Memories of the Lost
by WildWolfMoon
Summary: Three boys died on the same day. But are they really gone? And what happends to their three best friends?
1. Chapter 1

Three boys died on the same day.

One was killed in a suicide bombing, a blonde teen with a speech problem and a love of flying. He was picking up his sister, a girl named Ino, from school. She wasn't there. Ino had gone to a friend's house, and though she had called her brother, he didn't get it until too late. He blew up along with the school and the bomber, leaving behind his best friend Sasori and his sister, Sakura, Ino's best friend and his own dear sister, Ino.

It was her house Ino was at when it happened, and the three of them got the call about his death together. Sakura, Sasori's younger sister, had held her friend to her chest as the blonde sobbed, Sasori staring at the phone in shock.

Another died by a disease that was eating away his body. His brother and his best friend, Kisame, were sitting by his hospital bed when he shut his eyes for the final time. They were the ones who called the doctors in when the machine regulating the teen's breathing had begun to beep. Kisame watched with wide eyes as his friend slipped away from him forever.

The teen's parents never went to his funeral, although his brother and Kisame did. The only tears for him were shed by those two, although many whispered about what a good boy he had been, and how sad it had been that he died so young.

The third was killed by his family and for his religion. He had left his best friend Kakuzu with a small smile, lavender eyes burning with tears as he headed home. Kakuzu didn't see why his friend was crying, after all, they would see each other again soon, right? No. The teen was killed by his parents for his god, and offered up as a peace offering for something they had done. Kakuzu had wondered what was going on, and had entered the house the moment his friend's parents stabbed the teen through the chest with a sword, decorated with their god's symbol.

Kakuzu had held his friend as the teen shuddered, breathing in his last breaths. He knew that he was too far gone to save him, and instead had tried to comfort the teen in his last moments. When he finally died, Kakuzu ripped his friend's parents limb from limb, before calling the police.

All lost. Their best friends, ripped away from them forever, and gone.

All on the same day. Because of it, it was destined that they would meet, the souls of the dead and their living friends. Souls intertwined, joined and while they were joined, there was the hope they could see their friends, the ones they cared for so much, once again.

But Kisame, Sasori and Kakuzu didn't know that, as they fell into grief for their lost friends, who, upon hearing about their friends deaths, realized they loved them more than anything. But they were lost to the darkness, and the living sank into depression, lost in their sadness.  


* * *

Kakuzu stared blankly at the wall in front of him, not really seeing it. He was sitting on his bedroom floor, a picture of him and a smaller, paler teen in one hand. It had been two months. Two months to this day that Hidan had died.

No, Hidan hadn't died. Hidan was killed.

Kakuzu frowned and ground his teeth together, hands clenching into fists as he remembered that day, the picture falling to the floor.  


* * *

_"Kuzu..." Hidan whispered, his body shaking as blood trickled from his mouth, tears streaming down his face. "I'm afraid...."_

Kakuzu was fighting back his own tears as he looked over his friend. The Jashinist had a deep wound in his chest, blood seeping into his shirt. Lavender eyes, wide and scared, a pale body, which grew paler by the second. "Hidan...I can't help you. I'm sorry."

"Kakuzu....please....just don't leave me...." Hidan whispered, coughing harshly on his own blood, eyes slowly shutting. "Stay with me...until the end...."

"I will Hidan," Kakuzu promised sadly. The end was near for his friend, so near...."I'll stay right here."

Hidan gave his friend a weak smile as his breathing grew fainter. "See you in hell, Kuzu...." he whispered as his eyes closed.

Kakuzu shook his head, tears now making their way down his face. "Hidan...you're to good for Hell. Go to Heaven, angel."

Hidan never replied.   


* * *

Kakuzu shook his head. He shouldn't think about that again....he reached down and picked up the photo, eyes tracing it sadly. Hidan looked so alive in the picture, grinning at the camera with bright white teeth, one arm wrapped around the miser's neck. Kakuzu was grinning as well, and the two of them looked so peaceful and happy.

But Hidan was dead, and life no longer held any joy for Kakuzu. All he had to remember his friend now were some old, fading photos, a tape, and the memories of Hidan's death.

Hidan had been killed for his god. A sacrifice, to please Jashin for a sin his parents had committed. It was so bad, they had to offer up something important to them up, just to get Jashin's forgiveness. They had chosen Hidan. And Hidan had known about it. He spent his last day with Kakuzu, trying to forget about his fate.

If Kakuzu hadn't opened the door when he did, Hidan would have died on the cold stone floor, on his own as his parents prayed. Instead, he died in Kakuzu's arms, and then Kakuzu had killed the albino's parents for taking the one person he cared for away from him.

School was starting soon. He was going to a new high school, twin suicide bombers had blown up his old high school and some middle school the day Hidan had died.

A new school...a new life without Hidan.  


* * *

Sasori picked up a photo of him and Deidara, feeling his throat constrict as he looked over it. "Dei...."

It had been two months since that phone call.  


* * *

_RING...RING...RING..._

"I'll get it!" Sakura yelled to her brother cheerfully. "It's probably Dei demanding to know what we did with Ino...."

Sasori watched as his sister picked up the phone, and as her gleeful expression suddenly fell, and suddenly the girl was gripping the phone in both hands, her green eyes wide. Suddenly, she hung up, slamming the phone to the table.

Ino and Sasori were both watching her by this point. "What is it?" Sasori asked gently. Ino's eyes were wide, hands clutched over her heart.

Sakura was shaking. "It's Dei..." she choked out. Fear griped at Sasori.

"What happened?" he asked quickly.

"...He's dead."   


* * *

He was going to a new school this year. The irony of it. His best friend had died in the old school, when some crazy bomber blew it up. Sasori had never felt as depressed as he had, hearing that his best friend was dead, never coming back.

Ino now lived with him and Sakura. It was the least the red head could do for his friend. The two Iwa's parents had run off when Deidara was fifteen and Ino eleven. The blonde had raised the girl, and when he died, he was finishing up his junior year, along with Sasori.

He never finished the year though.

Sasori pressed a hand to his face. New students had to come into their school now. It turned out the bomber who had killed Deidara had a twin, and that man had blown up the town's other high school.

A new year....a new life, without Deidara by his side.  


* * *

Kisame was taking Sasuke to school. Itachi was dead, after all, and the weasel had been the boy's only family, as the boy's parents didn't care about him. The two Uchiha's had lived on their own. So when Itachi died, Sasuke had no one left, except Kisame.

To Kisame, he had no one left, either. His family and life had died with Itachi.  


* * *

_Itachi's breathing was very faint as he studied his brother and best friend through black eyes._

"Itachi, you need to rest more," Kisame ordered softly. "It's okay, we're not going anywhere." Sasuke, who was sitting besides the shark, nodded.

"I'm going to die," the Uchiha said quietly, turning his gaze back on the ceiling and shutting his eyes.

"Please don't talk like that," Kisame begged his friend. "You'll make it, Itachi. Please believe that..."

"I'm dying...." Itachi whispered slowly, not seeing the look of panic spreading across Sasuke and Kisame's faces at his words.

The weasel's breathing was slowing....his pulse getting slower....the machine began beeping....

"Hey? Itachi? Itachi?! ITACHI!"  


* * *

Kisame frowned and shook his head before turning his gaze back on the road. He had to start at a new school soon, his old one had been blown up, but his didn't start for another few days. Sasuke sat in the back seat, staring out the window, eyes sad and lost, much like how Kisame felt right now, how he had been feeling since Itachi had died.

But he had to move on, and help Itachi's brother grow. He had to live his life. Without Itachi.

* * *

**Author's Comments: ** This is more depressing than I meant for it to be.

Yes, in this, Itachi, Deidara and Hidan are dead. But not really. It's kinda weird, and I did this before doing another theme mainly because I was so excited by this idea, I just had to. Enjoy.

EDIT: Yes, Sasori and Sakura are siblings, and the same for Deidara and Ino.


	2. Chapter 2

"SASORI! YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!" Sakura yelled, pounding on her brother's door, Ino standing quietly next to her.

Since Deidara's death, Ino had become more and more withdrawn, hardly speaking to anyone outside of her group of friends, and she wore all black to mourn her brother's death. Sakura, understanding how hard it was for Ino, had helped her friend dye her entire wardrobe a deep shade of black.

Today she wore a long black skirt and sleeves, not really caring it was August. Sakura, just to make her friend feel better, wore gray much of the time, and was dressed in a gray shirt and a pair of slightly darker gray shorts, hair pulled back with a gray and red ribbon.

"Go away, Sakura," Sasori's voice came back through the door, slightly muffled. "I'm not going, alright? Just go to school already."

Sakura growled and tugged at her hair. "Why? Is it just because Dei's dead?" she asked the wood, not noticing Ino's flinch at the mention of her brother.

"Yeah. I don't wanna go!"

The girl frowned again. "Sasori, please. Dei wouldn't want you to do this to yourself. He would want you to move on. So please go, if just for him?"

There was silence for a moment, then the door opened to reveal a tired looking red head, gray eyes surrounded by bags and crimson hair a tangled mess. "Fine. You win, Sakura. I'll go to school."

Sakura gave him a small smile. "Sasori...I'm sorry. But you have you have to move on. Dei doesn't want your whole life to fall apart just because he's no longer here."

Sasori stared at her with blank eyes for another moment. "Sakura..." he began. "I just can't forget about him just yet. It's only been two months."

"And that's why you have to let go," Sakura ordered gently, before turning to face Ino, who was looking down at the floor, her blue eyes burning. "Let's go, Ino," Sakura said softly, pulling on her friend's arm and leading her down the hallway. Sasori stared after them, before pulling his head back into his room and gently shutting the door.  


* * *

_"They're mourning us still," a teen with silver hair commented, looking down at his best friend, who was walking to his school, looking at the ground, long dark hair whipping around his tan face, and he was dressed all in black. The albino felt something tug at his heart as he watched the teen walk away, ignoring the world._

"You two did die unexpectedly," a raven haired teen told the silver haired, who scoffed at him.

"Was your death really that fucking predictable?" the albino demanded, shoving his silver hair back from his pale face and lavender eyes.

The raven haired teen looked away, focusing his blank black gaze on something in the distance. "I knew I was going to die young since I was eleven, alright? You should have at least told your friend what was going to happen, you knew you were going to die."

The albino's turn to look away. "He couldn't have done anything. Blondie here is the only one whose death was a fucking surprise to them."

A blonde teen with long hair and clear blue eyes looked up. He'd been watching his best friend as he walked to school, with his sister and the blonde's sister. "At least I went out with a bang. But how was I suppose to know some crazy guy would blow the school sky high, un?"

"You weren't," the dark haired teen told the blonde quietly. "But still..."

"What the fuck is it now?"

The dark haired teen looked back at his own friend, who was trying to get a small, dark haired boy to take at least one bite of cereal. "We broke their hearts."

The blonde looked away again. "I wouldn't have been able to prevent my death, un," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Only Hidan could have stopped his death, un. You died in your friend's arms, right?" the blonde asked, looking up at the albino.

The silver haired teen's face fell. "I did. I didn't expect him to barge in. But he held me until I finally died, then he killed my parents."

The dark haired teen sighed and shook his head. "We all died on the same day, right? So it was destined we would meet each other in the afterlife."

"You sound like my sister's friend, talking about destiny like that, un," the blonde piped up, grinning up at the teen.

The raven haired teen ignored him, tapping a finger to his lips as he thought. "Maybe...." he said slowly.

"What the hell is it?" the silver haired teen asked, running a hand through his hair again and narrowing his eyes.

The teen looked at the other two, a rare smile creasing his face. "Maybe we can come back. There's nagas, right? They can raise the dead." He paused, his forehead furrowing. "Of course, someone living will have to exchange something for us. Maybe...we can talk to the living."

The blonde and the albino drew back, eyes wide before grins split their faces. "Maybe, un."

"It can't fucking hurt to try," the silver haired said, shrugging.

"We have to try," the dark haired teen said softly, looking back down at his brother and his best friend. "We have to."   


* * *

Kakuzu frowned as he looked around the lunchroom, not seeing anywhere were he might be able to sit down and eat what little he still did. Since Hidan had died, the miser no longer had any real friends, and so was on his own.

Hidan had always had a lot of friends. The Jashinist had been loud, charismatic and charming. He drew people to him easily, a skill that Kakuzu didn't have.

He looked around again, and then saw a red haired boy sitting on his own in the corner, wearing all black, just like the miser was. Kakuzu briefly debated his options, then decided the just go over there and ask.  


* * *

Sasori picked through his salad, not really seeing it. He was alone again, since Deidara's death. He dropped his fork to the table and buried his face in his hands, just wanting the day to be over and done with.

"Excuse me..." Sasori jerked his head up to see a teen standing before him. Dark hair fell into strange glowing eyes, and his body was tanned.

"Yes?" the red head asked, sitting back up.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" the teen asked, gesturing to the seat. Slowly, Sasori shook his head, and the teen took a seat.

"Why are you sitting on your own?" the teen asked after a moment. "I'm Kakuzu, by the way."

"Sasori. And I'm alone because my best friend blew up with the old middle school. I don't have any friends besides him." The red head picked up his fork again and began playing with his wilted lettuce and old carrots.

"The day the middle school blew up...." Kakuzu said thoughtfully. "My best friend died that same day as well."

Sasori looked up again, crimson hair falling into his face. "How did he die?" he asked.

Kakuzu took a deep breath before speaking. "He was a Jashinist. That religion is based off pain and death, and sacrifices are mandatory in it." Sasori raised a eyebrow at that.

"Anyway, Hidan was the perfect Jashinist. And then his parents had to go and commit some major sin." Kakuzu's hands tightened beneath the table. "I walked into the room just as they stabbed him through the heart. I knocked them unconscious, and then I held Hidan until he finally stopped breathing. When I was sure he was dead, I killed his parents." Kakuzu closed his eyes. "There was so much blood..." he whispered.

Sasori shook is head. "Nothing like that happened to Dei. He was picking up his sister, Ino, my sister's best friend. Sakura and Ino were at my house, and Ino called him and left him a message shortly before the bombing." Kakuzu opened his eyes and regarded the red head, who looked away.

"We got a call," the Akasuna whispered. "They said they had found pieces of Deidara in the rubble. Ino's now living with me and Sakura, and she's so quiet..."

"Are you talking about the bombing?" a deep voice asked, and Sasori and Kakuzu whipped around to see a teen with blue skin and hair standing before them.

"Yeah," Sasori said finally, after taking in the boy's appearance.

The teen gave him a small shark like grin. "My friend also died that same day," he said.

Sasori gestured for the teen to sit down, which he did. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'm Kisame, by the way. Itachi, my best friend, had been in the hospital for over six months. He had some rare disease, and there was nothing we could do to stop it. Sasuke, his younger brother and I, were there when he died. But Itachi knew since he was eleven that it was going to kill him, sooner or later." Kisame heaved a sigh. "I miss him, though."

"Maybe they met in heaven," Sasori said.

Kakuzu and Kisame smiled. "Yeah, maybe."

* * *

**Author's Comments: ** Someone should sue me for the italic abuse.

And they finally appear! Yay!

And no, I am not pairing up Kakuzu, Kisame and Sasori with each other. It'll be SasoDei, KakuHidan and KisaIta, don't worry.


	3. Chapter 3

Kakuzu sighed as he dropped his backpack to the floor, switching on his bedroom light. "Home sweet home," he muttered, fighting his way across his messy floor to his bed. He sat down, and winced at the sharp squeak from the bedsprings, and he threw aside a shirt, letting it fly through the air and come to land on his cluttered desk. He ran a hand through his thick tangled hair as his green and black eyes scanned his small bedroom.

It was so messy....the room dark and gloomy from the black curtains that hung over the window, smothering all light.

Since Hidan had died, the miser had lost all interest in many things. Money, cleaning, being on time...His room was now a disaster, clothing flung everywhere and papers scattered across the carpeting, his alarm clock broken, the window plane cracked and broken. His shoes were sitting on top of stacks of clothes that tipped and leaned precariously.

He really needed to clean up soon though...even his mom, who was never around anymore, complained about the mess, on the rare occasion when she decided to brave her son's room, usually searching for something, sometimes something of hers, but more than once she had come in to look at Kakuzu's pictures of him and Hidan.

Kakuzu's mom, Ari, had always treated Hidan like a second son to her. Hidan spent nearly as much time at the miser's house as he did at his own, and Ari had known everything about the albino, her knowledge second only to Kakuzu's.

When she heard that Hidan was dead, she had taken it nearly as bad as the miser had. She spent much of her time out of the house, claiming being there reminded her too much of the Jashinist.

Kakuzu sighed again as he looked at his dresser, all the drawers hanging out, clothing dumping onto the floor...except for one. He shut his eyes and rubbed at them, feeling something behind them burn again.

That drawer was one Kakuzu never wanted to open, but still did, when his grief got too much for him. Hidan had practically lived at his friend's house, and had gotten sick of hauling stuff back and forth whenever he spent the night. So Kakuzu had given him a drawer to store some clothing in, to use whenever he came over.

When Hidan died, Kakuzu had never bothered to empty the drawer.

Having it there, with the albino's clothes still in it, made it feel somewhat like Hidan wasn't really dead. It made it feel like any moment now, Hidan would come barging in, demanding to know when dinner would be done and where the hell Kakuzu had put the fighting games for the Wii. It made it feel like any moment, Hidan would come into his room, grumbling under his breath about his frustrating parents, smoothening back mussed silver hair, lavender eyes tired and annoyed.

It made it feel like he wasn't gone. Like the albino was still there for him.

Kakuzu frowned and scratched his head. He knew that someday, he would have to get rid of his dead friend's clothing, but for now...they brought him some amount of comfort.

The fabric still held traces of Hidan's scent, and Kakuzu didn't want to forget that one thing. Hidan had always smelled of lavender, blood and cinnamon, and even now, two months after his death, Kakuzu could still imagine his friend's scent if he strained at his memory long enough.

He remembered talking to Sasori and Kisame at lunch. Their friends were dead as well, and they had died on the same day Hidan had. How where they dealing with it?

But he had to clean up, that was what he should be thinking of right now. Kakuzu sighed and got to his feet, bending over to pick up a shirt off the floor, glancing at the drawer again, and he felt something drip from his eyes.

His grief for Hidan never went away, and every reminder of the Jashinist made it grow worse. But he was glad there were signs his friend really had lived, even though they just cut into him every time he saw one.

Hidan was never coming back, would never complain to the miser, would never cheer loudly when he managed to beat Kakuzu at a video game, would never ask him for help with his homework.

So why was he still waiting for something that would never happen?  


* * *

"Sasori, you need to clean up your room soon," Sakura scolded her older brother, sticking her head into his dark room. Sasori was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, clothing plied up on the sheets he was lying on. Upon hearing his sister's voice, he raised his head and glared at her, his gray eyes narrowed and tired.

"Sakura, why the hell are you so bossy?! You're only fourteen!" he snapped angrily, raising himself up on his elbows to better see his sister, squinting in the gloom. Sakura glared at him, narrowing her green eyes.

"Which explains why my room is cleaner than my eighteen year old brother's. Come ON, Sasori! You're letting everything fall apart, just because of Dei!" she snapped. "And Sasori, please turn on your light once in a while. It won't kill you."

Sasori sighed and allowed himself to flop back onto his pillow. "You turn in on then," he mumbled, not really caring about it.

Sakura frowned. "Fine. I will." With that, she stretched out her hand, grouping around on the wall for the switch, finally finding it and flipping it up. Sasori squeezed his eyes tightly against the sudden light, flopping a hand over his eyes.

"Ow..."

"Don't complain, you're a big boy," Sakura said briskly. "Anyway, Ino had another crying jag, so we're going over to Hinata's to calm her down."

"Did you call and ask if you could?" Sasori asked, his voice muffled by his arm. Sakura snorted.

"Of course I did. I'm not like you. You were always going over to Dei's house without calling---" Sakura cut herself off and looked away. "Look, I'm sorry, Sasori. Dei died so suddenly...you and Ino are taking this so hard...."

"I miss him..." Sasori whispered, barely loud enough for his sister to hear, his voice shaking slightly as he spoke. But she did, and she entered the room, sighing as she walked over to her brother's bed, sitting down on the edge of it and looking dead ahead at the wall, green eyes expressionless, yet at the same time, sad.

"Sasori...Deidara wouldn't want this," she said after a moment of silence, still staring at the wall. "He wouldn't want Ino to spend her whole life depressed. He wouldn't want you to let everything fall down around you, just because of him."

Sasori raised his arm and glared at his sister's back. "Sakura, I can't stand it! I miss him so much, it's digging into me." The red head clutched at his chest and looked away, feeling his eyes burn. "It hurts...so much..."

"Ino feels the same way. He was her whole family, like you are mine." Sakura got to her feet, her back still to Sasori. "I should get her out of here before she floods the whole downstairs. See you, brother."

The girl picked her way across the room and slipped out the door, shutting it gently behind her, leaving Sasori alone in the gloom once again, still staring after her, before his hand dropped back down to his mattress and he shut his eyes.

No one really understood how much it cut into him.

No one ever would.  


* * *

Kisame stared out his apartment window, not really seeing the street below. The place was quiet for once, Sasuke was spending the night at a friend's, and Kisame was grateful for the peace. But it also made him feel oddly detached.

When Itachi was still alive, the shark would go and visit the Uchiha on quiet afternoons like this. Itachi was nearly always awake, either reading or watching the door when Kisame entered.

But now...Itachi was dead, and much of the shark's life and happiness had died with him.

Kisame heaved a sigh and pressed his forehead to the cool glass. He missed Itachi so much...

The Uchiha had spent a year in the hospital before he finally died. One time, he had confided in Kisame that he now hated the color white, and when the shark had asked why, the weasel had smiled at him before replying.

_"Well, Kisame, I'm here to die, right? Hospitals are white, so death must be white, not black. And I'm going to die soon enough, so why surround me with something that I'll see for all eternity?"_

The shark could still hear his friend's voice, tinted with a small smile as he spoke, though how anyone could say that and smile, Kisame had no idea.

Kisame hadn't known how to responded to that at the time. But now...

He sighed again. He had to forget it. He wasn't going to see Itachi again, just like that guy Kakuzu would never see his friend Hidan again, nor Sasori Deidara.

_Death ripped us apart..._the shark mused, shutting his eyes for a moment. _I really wish that I could see Itachi once more...and ask him if death is really white..._

The shark put his hands against the wall and pushed himself upright again, shaking his head sadly. He really shouldn't think of Itachi again...all it did was hurt him more.

Kisame leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling. "Itachi..." he whispered. "I know how you feel now."

_I'm sorry that you had to die like you did...and that I didn't understand what you meant until it was too late..._

* * *

**Author's Comments: ** Weird...this is getting even more depressing, from my point of view.

Anyway, they're all depressed, because they're remembering their friends still.

So sad...I managed to make myself upset.

...

Why isn't anyone yelling at me for killing off the ukes yet?


	4. Chapter 4

_The albino watched sadly as his friend began to clean up his bedroom. Dark hair hung over his green eyes, and the teen couldn't see the look on his friend's face._

"It shouldn't be that messy," the silver haired teen said aloud, shoving his hair back from his face. His lavender and pink eyes were sad and tired. The teen was floating as usual, legs crossed. His shirt was ripped and faded, his jeans splattered with blood that also decorated his shirt.

"He shouldn't be that lost...." the teen whispered silently. "He shouldn't be like that...just because I'm not there...."

"Are you watching him again?" a voice asked, and the teen looked up to see another teen with dark black hair gliding towards him, wearing a standard t shirt and jeans standing there, looking down at him. Like the albino, the dark haired teen was transparent, and he could see clouds and birds behind him.

"Yeah," the boy said quietly, looking away again. "I can't fucking help it..."

The other teen sighed and settled into a sitting position besides the silver haired teen, shutting his eyes.

The silver haired teen leaned back in the air. "Where's blondie?"

"Off watching his danna," the other answered in monotone, eyes still shut.

The albino sighed. "Hey....Itachi...."

"Hmm?"

The silver haired teen gulped and drew in a deep breath of air. "If they....if there's a chance one of them...can see us...how are we going to convince them we're real?"

Silence for a moment.

"I mean..." the albino hesitated before continuing. "It's really not...every day you see a dead teenager trying to convince you.....that they can come back...to life, you know?"

"Hn."

"And what if....what if we can't really appear to the ones we want to? What the fuck will we do then?"

The dark haired teen pressed a hand to his forehead, eyes still shut tightly. "Hidan...why are you so worried about this?" he asked finally.

The other teen looked away, a pained look on his face. "Because I'm fucking worried for their sanity!"

He gestured towards his friend's house, feeling his eyes burn, and quickly wiped at them. "I was the only real friend Kakuzu had! He was the only one who ever understood me! And now I'm dead. Dead!"

The silver haired teen stop speaking for a moment. The other's eyes were open by now, and watching the albino closely.

The albino took in a shuddering breath before continuing. "Itachi...I'm scared for him. You have to understand that, you left your best friend and your little brother, right? You have to understand it!" he buried his face in his hands.

"I do..." the other teen whispered quietly, looking away. "But with me...they had know for a while I was going to die, sooner or later. But that didn't stop Kisame from visiting me every day...Hidan, I do understand."

The other teen looked up at him, tears staining his face. "Then how are we going to get them to believe us? If they don't help us, that's it, we're dead forever!"

The dark haired teen regarded his friend for a moment. "Hidan.." he began finally. "We're going to figure something out. We'll come back, don't worry."  


* * *

Sasori laid on his bed. It was late, well past 11pm, yet he didn't want to get up and get something to eat, or anything else really. Sakura and Ino had come home long ago, and they were now both in their shared bedroom.

The red head clenched his hands into fists. Since Deidara was dead, Ino lived with the two Akasuna siblings. Her old house had been sold, and a new family lived there; one with a girl about six years of age.

Sasori had been six years old the first time he met Deidara, and just starting preschool. He had been drawn to the blonde, always had been, right up until his death

When Deidara was fifteen, and the blonde's parent's had run off, Deidara and Ino hadn't bothered with moving. The house was paid for, why not just live there while they could? But now, since Ino was only fourteen and depressed, on the border of becoming suicidal, it wasn't safe to let the girl live on her own.

So the Iwa's home had been sold.

Sasori pressed a hand to his head, gray eyes half open. His room was dim, and quiet...Ino and Sakura must be asleep.

Times like this, he really missed the blonde. Deidara was like an explosion; bursting into everything he could, dancing around, being _alive_.

Sasori wished he had half as much spark as Deidara had had. Life had lost so much meaning for him...if it wasn't for the fact he had to take care of his sister, he would have died long ago.

The red head shut his eyes. As he was drifting off, he could almost hear someone talking to him.

_Danna...I'm so sorry, un...Please don't die..._

Sasori gave a small tired smile. "Sounds like Deidara..." he sighed, feeling exhausted, though he wasn't sure why. "Just like him..."  


* * *

Kisame was sitting on his bed, flipping through old photos of him and Itachi, a few of them also involving the weasel's brother. These had all been taken before Itachi had been admitted to the hospital, and the while the Uchiha looked tired in many of them, he was nearly always smiling in every one.

The shark sighed and leaned back against his headboard, shutting his eyes.

When the weasel was still alive and out of the hospital...those days seemed like a lifetime ago. In a way, it was.

Since Itachi was dead, and had died in a bed, surrounded by machines and doctors, and white. Was the weasel now still surrounded by that color, even now?

Kisame opened his eyes again and held another picture up, one were he and Itachi were giving Sasuke ice cream, Kisame holding th cone as Itachi wiped his brother's face with a napkin. Sasuke's face was screwed up in frustration and he was reaching for the cone, which was dripping sweet cream down the shark's blue hand.

What Kisame loved most about this picture was the gentle look in the elder Uchiha's black eyes as he cleaned up his messy younger. Kisame, in the background, was grinning like an idiot at the looks on the two Uchiha's faces.

Right after that picture had been taken, by who Kisame couldn't remember, Itachi had turned around and had given the same gentle smile to his friend.

That smile had always stopped Kisame dead in his tracks. It just made the teen look so...different. Softer, like he wasn't dying from some rare disease, like he was going to be alive forever, like he had all the time in the world.

Kisame shook his head as he set aside the stack of photos, lying down and pulling his covers over him, shutting his golden eyes.

Just as he was about to drop off, a soft voice whispered in his ear.

_Please Kisame...I'm sorry....I never meant to die like that...forgive me..._ The voice sounded so close...

Kisame shook his dead again. "Sounds so much like Itachi..." he muttered, before pulling his blankets over his face and dropping off completely.  


* * *

Kakuzu sighed and shoved aside yet another stack of clothing, reaching for the stack of shirts when he noticed something silver.

He frowned, pushing his hair out of his eyes as he pushed his way over to the object. Bending down, he grabbed the thing and held it up to what little light he had in his room, only to have his eyes widen in shock.

Dangling from a chain that he held was a silver circle, a triangle inside of it. The metal glowed slightly in the gloom, and there was a hint of blood at the edges of the circle.

It was Hidan's rosary.

Shaking, Kakuzu held the necklace closer to him, clutching at it with both hands, eyes shut as he gulped down air.

That was right...when Hidan had died, he had removed the necklace from the Jashinist's neck. There were times when he'd look at it, and it made a turmoil of emotions bubble up within him,

He hated Jashinism now, with a passion. It was because of that stupid religion that Hidan was dead. It was because of that dammed god, Jashin, that Kakuzu was alone now, his best friend gone forever

But all of his life, as long as Kakuzu had known him, Hidan had been a devoted Jashinist. Always, he had done his rituals and had tried to convert Kakuzu many times, though each attempt had seemed kinda half hearted. Hidan always read his bible, always did just as his god commanded him...and where had it gotten him?

Killed by his own parents, dying in his friend's arms. If Jashin really existed, why did he allow his most faithful to die like that?

It wasn't fair, for him or for Hidan.

The necklace reminded him of all that, and no matter what he said or did, Kakuzu knew he'd never be able to get rid of it.

Kakuzu sighed and got to his feet, fighting his way over to his dresser. Standing before it for a moment, the miser gulped, before pulling open Hidan's drawer.

Hidan's scent filled the room, and Kakuzu shut his eyes as his friend's unique smell washed over him. Then he opened his eyes and looked down at the tangled mess of fabric. Sighing again, he dropped the chain into the drawer and shut it slowly.

As Kakuzu made his way over to his bed, suddenly exhausted, he could swear he head someone's voice, faint and ethereal, whispering to him.

_I'm so sorry, Kakuzu....I didn't want to die, especially not in front of you..._ the voice said softly. Kakuzu grinned bitterly, shaking his head.

"Sounds just like Hidan's voice," he whispered, before he fell onto his bed and his eyes shut, drifting off instantly.

* * *

**Author's Comments: ** Wow, I hate the beginning of this.

It's so weird....

But yay! They heard them! Finally! And yes, this is still important to the plot.

Is anyone gonna try and kill me for this?

And again, italic abuse.


	5. Chapter 5

Kisame pressed a hand to his face, shifting his backpack into a more comfortable position as he walked to his next class, biology and health. He grinned bitterly and shook his head, listening to his textbooks crash against each other in his pack. The irony of this, taking a health class when his best friend had died from what they were now learning about, disease and STDs.

Itachi had always said if the doctors somehow managed to cure his disease, he would enter med school and become a doctor himself, aiding people who couldn't always afford health care. Typical Itachi...

Kisame shook his head again as he rounded the corner. Man, he really missed the weasel...Itachi hadn't been there for the shark's junior year, as he'd been in the hospital, but Kisame could always go tell him what had happened that day. Usually, something had gotten a laugh out of him, but the Uchiha's laughter had always quickly changed to wheezy hacking.

And the doctors had always come running to help his doubled up friend, and the shark would have to go home for the night.

And now, Kisame couldn't do the same thing with Sasuke, who was fourteen, and he didn't really think the kid needed to hear about he'd accidentally stumbled upon Kin, the school's most popular girl, making out with Kimimaru, the school wacko, in the boy's bathroom. He didn't think the kid needed to be traumatized just yet.

But he missed having someone to talk to.

Kisame flashed back to what had happened the night before, when he was about to fall asleep, and he snorted, earning several looks from people passing him by.

That voice last night he'd heard...he had to be imaging things. He just had to be missing his friend so much, he was starting to hear him.

Kisame wasn't particularly religious. He didn't believe in any God, the supernatural, or in reincarnation. And he especially didn't believe in spirits. Even if there were such things, Itachi didn't really seem to have any regrets, so why would he be talking to Kisame?

He had to be imagining things.

...Right?  


* * *

Kakuzu was walking to the front door, eyes on the ground as he thought, dark hair falling into his eyes. It was lunchtime, and since they were allowed to eat outside and he didn't really want to be around anyone now, he was heading outside to eat.

Actually, just to sit there. He didn't really eat much anymore, only when he felt like he was starving. He only wanted to be alone.

Since finding his dead friend's rosary, the miser had barely said a word to anyone. Not that anyone really noticed...

He pushed open the door, blinking at the harsh sunlight. It was still warm out, as it was only August, barely September, and the sky was a clear, crisp blue, birdsong clear and sharp, the air only slightly brisk. It was a perfect day, just like it had been on the....

On the day Hidan had died.

Kakuzu shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked down the steps, heading for an old oak tree right by the school, mentally slapping himself. He frowned and sighed deeply, hunching his shoulders at the sudden breeze that whistled by him.

He really, really had to stop thinking about Hidan. He was dead, after all, and before the Jashinist had died, Kakuzu had never saw any reason to dwell in past moments, and had only lived for the present.

But reliving the past seemed to be all he did nowadays.

The miser grinned bitterly to himself. Reliving the past, yeah...that's what he had to have been doing last night, when he could have sworn that Hidan was right next to him, talking to him.

Reminded him of all the times Hidan had come stomping into his room, fury painted on his face, and he had plunked down on Kakuzu's bed and started ranting at the miser about his parents. Even before they killed their son, Sari and Klein Neco hadn't been the best parents.

Sometimes, it was over something stupid, like having Sari take away Hidan's computer for a week. But then there was the time when the whole family had gone on a month long fast, and Kakuzu had given his friend food during that time, which Hidan had always devoured hungrily, breaking the law of Jashin or not.

There he went again....Kakuzu slumped down, sinking down, his back to the tree, shutting his glowing green eyes for a moment, the rough bark digging into him through his usual black shirt. It was so quiet and peaceful....

SMACK

His eyes flew open, and he looked around, thin lips pressed into a frown. What was that noise...?

Getting to his feet, he headed to the other side of the school and leaned his head around the corner, only to find the red haired kid, Sasori, being held up against the wall by a guy named Naoki, the teen's goons surrounding them so Sasori would have no way to escape.

Sasori didn't seem to care. On the contrary, he looked rather bored, gray eyes as disinterested as Kakuzu had ever seen someone look.

Kakuzu frowned again as he drew closer. Naoki grinned down at the red head and raised his hand, slapping Sasori across the face with a sharp crack. Sasori didn't even wince. Instead, he faced forward and spat in the teen's face.

"Is that the best you can do, even with all of your dummies?" the red head hissed dangerously, eyes narrowing.

Naoki frown at him, and slapped him again, harder, although Sasori made no noise. "I'll have you know that Tyson here has an I.Q of 110, 120," he said, pointing to a sluggish looking boy with a buzz cut and sunken, dark brown eyes. Sasori studied the teen for a moment.

"Looks more like it's be 80. But then again, looks aren't everything," he said finally. Naoki hissed and dropped the teen to the ground, and Sasori fell down, back pressed against the brick. Gray eyes looked up, boring into smug brown.

"Seems since the blonde died, little Sasori has been forgetting his place. Then again, _he_ was never very good at remembering where he stood, neither," Naoki said arrogantly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sasori's face darkened as he rose to his feet. "Don't talk about Deidara like that," the red head hissed, eyes flashing. "Say another word against him and I'll kill you."

Naoki smirked, but backed up a pace. "Aw...why get so defensive? After all, blondie's not here...he's as dead as doornail, blown to pieces, huh? Just what a bastard like---"

Naoki's next few words were cut off by Sasori slamming his fist into his stomach, and the teen fell to his knees, gasping like a beached fish. Sasori knelt in front of him, the thugs backing away slowly. The red head grabbed the teen's chin and forced the brown eyes to stare into his own. When Sasori began speaking, every word was as cold as ice.

"I recommend that if you value your pathetic little life, you will never speak of Deidara like that again, you understand?"

Naoki was shaking, and quickly nodded his head. Sasori dropped him and stood up. Kakuzu smirked. That kid had spunk, that was for sure.

"And the same goes for all of you!" the red head yelled to the surrounding teens. He didn't notice as one teen snuck up behind him, metal pipe in hand, Sasori's back to him. The kid swung once, took aim, and brought it down for the kill...

Only to have it caught by Kakuzu, and then the guy was on the ground in the same shape as Naoki.

Sasori whipped around to find the other teens running off and Kakuzu standing there, metal pipe in hand. The Akasuna frowned. "What are you doing?"

Kakuzu smirked again and dropped the pipe. "I can't see two people die in front of me, watching Hidan was enough."

"They had weapons, huh?"

"You bet. Anyway, nice job taking care of this punk," Kakuzu said, kicking Naoki in the ribs. Naoki groaned and curled up into a smaller ball. Sasori raised an eyebrow.

"He's weak, and he made fun of Deidara," was all the red head said.

Kakuzu had to grin at that. "Yeah, I know how you feel. I'd react the samel way if someone trash talked Hidan in front of me. What were they doing to you?"

Sasori sighed and leaned back against the wall, running a hand through his crimson hair, ignoring Naoki's whimpers. "When Deidara was alive, people would come after us all the time, mainly cause Dei looked like a chick and they thought he was gay for that. I guess old habits die hard."

The red head gave a bitter laugh and got to his feet and walked past Kakuzu, heading away from the school.

"You ditching?" the miser yelled after Sasori's retreating figure. Sasori raised a hand in the air and waved before replying, yelling to be heard.

"You bet!"  


* * *

Sasori grumbled as he headed home. Thanks to Naoki, he was now furious, and ready to kill something, anything.

That bastard had insulted Dei.

Speaking of Deidara...Sasori could have sworn that he had heard the blonde talking to him last night. But that was impossible.

Sasori shook his head. He hadn't been sleeping well since Deidara's death, so it must have come from his exhaustion. He had to be imaging that his best friend had been in his room, telling him to get over his death,

Yeah...that had to be it...right?

Yep.

Sasori winced as his cheek throbbed. Dealing with those punks would be so much easier if he the blonde with him still...but he didn't, so he had to fend them off on his own.

The red head kicked irritably at a light post, then swore loudly when the shock raced through his foot, earning him a disapproving look from a passing granny.

"Now that's not nice, young man!" she scolded.

Sasori growled. "Do I look like I care?" he hissed, then stomped off before the poor woman could respond.

Wonderful.

His day was just getting better and better, and he had to get home before his eye started to swell up. And now his foot also hurt as well, from that dammed light. Didn't matter too much, it would feel better by morning.

Sakura would be mad when she found out he'd ditched half way through the day, but Sasori figured he'd rather put up with his sister than the teachers.

Or worse yet, the students.

Coming to a crossroad, Sasori headed right across the street, not paying any attention to the light.

So he didn't see the truck speeding right for him, until it was nearly upon him.

_MOVE, DANNA!_

* * *

**Author's Comments: **The ending of this was kinda rushed, because I'm not suppose to be on the computer, but I managed to finish it. ANd I'm almost done with what I have to be doing, so I'll be "allowed on" soon enough anyway.

Yeah...Sasori can actually fight in this one...


	6. Chapter 6

_"Danna..." the blonde whispered, watching with sad eyes as Sasori punched Naoki in the stomach, causing the teen to double up in pain. Always defending him, even in death...Sasori ever do anything that wasn't for Deidara...?_

His silver haired friend was floating besides him, watching the fight with interested eyes. "At least he can fight. How is he that good?" he asked, turning lavender eyes on his friend. The blonde shot him a look, flipping his hair over one shoulder.

"Well, people used to think I was gay when I was alive, un. Usually, they were homophobic, so they would come after me. Danna learned to protect me, un," he said, crossing his legs and staring at the sky.

"Well you sure as hell look gay!" the albino snickered. The blonde's eyes narrowed.

"What was that?!" he hissed, his voice lowering just a bit, eyes cold and hard.

"I just said---"

"Shut up, you two," the dark haired teen interrupted. The blonde and albino had ceased to pay attention the red head, and while the two of them had been settling down for another argument, they had failed to noticed that Sasori was walking away.

Hidan's light lavender eyes widened when he looked down and saw Kakuzu, walking away from the still floored Naoki, and kept them on the miser as the teen headed back to the school doors, heaving them open and walking inside. He had been there?

"HIDAN! HURRY UP, UN!" The blonde yelled, and the albino whipped around, gliding away from his living friend to join his dead ones.

"So he's fucking ditching?" he asked, settling into a steady glide besides the two teens, who were floating about a foot above the red head, and they could see him muttering to himself under his breath.

"Hidan, that sentence didn't really require a swear word," the Uchiha's ghost said firmly, not looking at the albino. "But yes, he is ditching."

"Danna never ditched before, un!" the blonde chimed in, wringing his hands as he stared down at Sasori.

"Having a friend does some strange things to people," the albino mumbled, running a hand through his silver hair, not that the strands needed straightening. One of the better things of being a ghost was nothing ever was out of place, but it was a force of habit. Somethings he wished he could change though, like the giant, bloody hole dead center in his chest.

"What was that?" the Uchiha asked, swiveling to see his friend, as the silver haired teen was floating slightly behind them.

The albino frowned and stuck out his tongue, looking for all the world like a pouting child. "Nothing, Itachi!"

"Really. Then be quiet."

They followed Sasori in silence for a few minutes. When Sasori cussed out the light post, Hidan broke out laughing, his body shaking harder when the red head snapped at the elderly woman. Deidara whipped around and glared at Hidan.

"It's not funny, un!" he said shrilly. Hidan grinned at him, still giggling.

"Yes it fucking is. And your friend has great talent with the seniors, doesn't he?" he asked, raising an a slender eyebrow.

The blonde glared and whispered a very soft "Fuck you" before speeding up his glide, now floating ahead of both the Jashinist and the Uchiha, anger radiating off his body.

"Can you lay off him, please?" Itachi whispered, slowing so he was floating besides Hidan.

Hidan snorted. "He's not the only one with a depressed friend, you know!" he snapped back, crossing his arms over his thin chest. "Kakuzu is just as likely to commit suicide as his danna, alright?"

Itachi sighed. It sucked to be the middle ground between these two. He opened his mouth to reply...

"MOVE DANNA!" they heard Deidara scream, and whipped around to face their friend, eyes wide

A truck was speeding straight for Sasori, the red head not seeming to notice it, Deidara speeding towards him, arms outstretched, long hair flying behind him. At the last moment, Sasori looked up to face the truck, and his gray eyes widened drastically as he tried to get himself out of the way, but there was no time...

Deidara was nearly there...if he had been solid, he would be crashing into Sasori in a moment.

But he was dead, a ghost, so if he went through him, he would...

Itachi's black eyes grew wider. No way was that blonde idiot going to do THAT...

"COME BACK, DEIDARA!" he yelled, but it was already far too late for the blonde to come back.

* * *

**Author's Comments: **okay, finally got this done as well...god...this is SHORT!

But the next chappie, more will be revealed! But I have to go start work on that other fic...but It'll be up soon, promise!

Anyway, more hints of SasoDei and KakuHidan...I need to work KisaIta into this soon...


	7. Chapter 7

"Ow..." Sasori's head was pounding, and he felt weak, and sorta...strange.

He blinked open his gray eyes, then squinted at the light. Shakily, he sat up, clutching at his head. A crowd of people surrounded him, their whispers easily reaching his ears.

"Did you see that?!"

"It was like he jumped..."

"How is possible to get out of the way of a speeding truck like that?"

"How is he not injured? That's not human!"

The red head frowned again. What had happened? He remembered the truck speeding for him and someone yelling at him to move. But that voice...it had called him...

Danna.

Which was what Deidara had always called the red head, since an incident in third grade when he'd saved the blonde from a serious beating from the school bully. He never managed to get Deidara to just call him by his name, and soon no longer noticed when the blonde used that name.

He'd even become secretly fond of it, at least when Deidara said, because it meant the blonde admired him, no matter what he said or did

But Deidara was dead.

"Hey, are you alright?" a middle aged woman with long curly red asked, kneeling down besides the red head. She was wearing expensive looking heels and a typical business dress, a choker of pearls fastened around her neck. Slowly, he nodded, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, you aren't bleeding, except for a scrape on your hand. You're remarkably lucky," she continued, getting to her feet and helping the still stunned red head up, ignoring the still whispering crowd. "You'll be fine, though."

"Thank you," he mumbled, holding a hand to his head. What was this weird feeling...? He felt...lighter than he had in a while.

Lighter than he had since he'd heard of Deidara's death. But why?

"Are you sure you're alright?" the woman asked, gently shooing away the crowd with long fingered, pale hands that shone under the harsh sunlight.

Sasori gave her a weak grin, smoothening back his crimson hair with one hand. "Yeah. Thank you again, ma'am. I'll be alright."

She smiled at him, magenta eyes glittering with amusement. "Take it easy now. It's not every day someone escapes death as narrowly as you did. You really are lucky. But you have someone watching over you, so that's part of the reason."

With that, the woman waved at him, then turned on her expensive black heel and strode away, the heel clinking sharply into the pavement.

Sasori stared after her. Someone was watching him, and that was the reason he didn't get hit?

That woman wasn't at all what she seemed to be. Maybe she had a mental issue or something, because she seemed to truly believe someone was watching over the red head.

And her eyes...how many people had magenta eyes? That color wasn't normal, certainly.

But he kinda wished...he wished that she was right, and that Deidara was---no don't even go there. Thinking about Deidara always made him feel worse.

Sasori slowly started off for his house, wanting nothing more to be in his bed, surrounded by soft and warm blankets. He really needed to calm down, think about what had happened, and maybe---

_"Danna...are you alright, un?"_ a voice whispered, sounding faint, ghostly, heavenly and all too familiar.

Sasori froze. Oh no. No, there was no way, no way in _hell_ that _he_ had come back, and even less of a chance that he had saved him.

Now he was hearing things, because there was no way he could he hearing the voice of Deidara Iwa, who had been dead for nearly two and a half months.

No way in hell..

* * *

**Author's Comments: ** Augh...another shortie...chappies will get long again with the next one, promise.

And that woman will be very important later on.


	8. Chapter 8

Sasori leaned back against his bedroom door, breathing harsh, eyes wide, hair a tangled mess. His gray eyes showed his shock, and his breathing was erratic.

When he'd heard Deidara's voice, the only thing he was able to think of doing was getting away from it, and away from people. So he had ran the whole way back to his house, up the stairs and to his bedroom, and now his back was pressed up to the cool wood, and the voice was still there.

Still talking to him.

Still there.

Still sounding like Deidara.

_"Is something wrong, danna, un?_ it asked. Sasori laughed bitterly, pushing himself up and heading over to his bed, flopping down on the mass of covers.

"Oh, nothings wrong. I was just nearly hit by a car, had some insane woman talk to me, and now there's a little voice in my head that sounds just like my dead best friend's. And now I'm talking to myself. Nothing wrong!"

He heard the voice sigh. _"Danna, you're not crazy. It's really me, Deidara, un!"_

Sasori scoffed, gray eyes fixed on the ceiling. "Right. And you just happen to be in my head. I've gone crazy."

_"It's really me, danna, un! And Hidan and Itachi are here, in your room, as well, un!"_ the voice protested.

"They've been dead for nearly three months! And there's no one here, I'm _still_ talking to myself and the little voice is still trying to pass itself off as Deidara.," Sasori growled, pulling his pillow over his eyes.

_"IT'S REALLY ME, UN! I POSSESSED YOU TO SAVE YOU FROM THAT TRUCK!" _the voice screamed, sounding almost desperate.

Sasori frowned. Well...if he'd been possessed, that would explain the floating feeling he had...and that strange warmth he was feeling. "Alright. If you can prove that there are ghosts, I'll believe that you're Deidara's ghost," he said finally.

_"Well then...I guess I'm going to have to increase your sixth sense then, un," _ the voice sighed.

"Wait, what are you..."

Pain suddenly shot through Sasori, forcing him to curl up into a ball, clutching at his now pounding head. Something raced inside of him, burning more than pain, feeling like liquid fire and turning his insides to stone and melting them. His heart was heavy and colder than ice, yet at the same time, it burned through him like molten lava. It increased in power, and Sasori felt tears slipping down his face as the pain grew unbearable.

Suddenly, the pain dulled, and was replaced by a gentle tingling that made the red head almost feeling like he could float. He relaxed, and allowed the feeling to wash over him, taking away the pain. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

And gasped, sitting up sharply, gray eyes wider than he could ever remember them being,in his whole life.

Two teens were floating in his room.

One was floating more than a foot off his dresser, a bored look on his face, legs crossed, and Sasori could see his poster for Linkin Park right through him. His hair was silver, and long, his eyes big for for a male, and a pale lavender. His skin was ice white, and he was built to be lean and muscular. On the center of his chest, on the middle of shirt, was a huge bloody hole. A silver pendant hung around his neck, the silver metal winking in the light.

The other one was about three feet off the ground by Sasori's closet. He was another girly looking guy as well, with long black hair, pale skin, and the darkest eyes Sasori had ever seen, so brown they they were nearly black. His expression was unusually cold and stonic.

_"Danna, meet Hidan Neco and Itachi Uchiha, un."_

* * *

**Author's Comments: ** YAY I'M DONE WITH THIS! Time to go work on a theme....


	9. Chapter 9

Sasori gaped at the two teens, who regarded him silently, the silver hair teen out of pale lavender, the other, cold black. The dark haired one, Itachi, shoved his long hair out of his face, narrowing black eyes._ "Deidara, come on out. Now."_

Sasori felt his back arch as he saw-_saw_-a pale, transparent arm reach out from his chest and bend, pressing the palm against his torso. It was followed by another, and then a head with long blonde hair pulled out. All Sasori could see was the pony tail and mass of hair, but he still felt his heart skip a beat as he saw the ghost of Deidara pull himself out of Sasori.

The blonde slowly floated to a standing position, back to Sasori as he shook his head and untangled long hair, which, from what Sasori could see, was tied back as Deidara had always held it back in life. Once he was sure he had his hair smoothed down, the ghost turned to face the red head, a small smile on his face. _"Hi, danna, un."_

Sasori's mouth had dropped open, his gray eyes wide. Deidara's smile grew broader when he saw the look on Sasori's face, then, still facing his friend, gliding backwards to the other two ghosts.

Sasori was in complete and total shock. He not only had three dead teenagers in his bedroom, but one of them happened to be the ghost of his best friend. "Is...that really you, Dei?" he whispered, clutching a pillow to his chest as he hungrily took in the blonde. After so long...he had forgotten some detials that made the blonde who he was.

That flip of hair over the shoulder, that raised eyebrow when confused, that small half smile always tugging at his lips...it really was him.

Still smiling, Deidara shrugged. _"I guess I am Deidara, un. But my body's dead, right? So not really, I guess, un."_

Sasori shook his head, cupping a hand to his forehead, tangling his fingers in crimson hair. "I'm dreaming. How can I see you?"

_"Because dammed blondie here enhanced your fucking second sight," _the silver haired ghost, Hidan, cut in, crossing ice white arms over a thin chest and glaring at the red head.

_"Hidan, manners. Yes, Deidara increased your sixth sense, second sight, whatever you want to call it. Basically, since he's a ghost, and you needed to be able to see us, he left part of him in you, in a way. Just a faint amount of energy, which he shoved into your system," _ the ghost of the Uchiha gently explained.

Sasori glanced over at Deidara, who merely nodded. _ "Danna, I just made it so you could see us. Nothing more, un. But we need your help, un." _

Sasori blinked. "With what?"

Deidara shot a nervous looks at the other two teens, who merely nodded once. Then the blonde turned to face Sasori, gulping. _ "Danna...there is the possibility that we-" _ he gestured to the other two spirits- _ "Can return to life, un. But it isn't possible unless..." _ his voice trailed off.

Sasori leaned forward, feeling happier than he had in a while. Deidara could come back...:he could come back to life. Sasori could have his best friend back.

"What is it, Dei?"

Deidara pressed a hand to his head. _ "We need to have the most important people to us believe that there are spirits, and they have to be willing to help us, un." _

Sasori's breath caught in his throat, and his grip on the pillow tightened, the feathers threatening to rip out of them seams.

Deidara took another breath, looking nervous. _ "With me, it's easy, because you're the most important person to me, un." _

The red head's eyes widened. What did Deidara just say...? Did they blonde really mean that?

And why did those few words make Sasori so very happy?

_"But we still have to convince Kakuzu and Kisame, un. And that's where you come in, danna, un." _

"What do I have to do?" Sasori asked.

The three spirits were silent for a second before Hidan spoke.

_"You have to convince them we're real, dumbass. Without their help, we're never coming back."_

* * *

**Author's Comments:** Plot will be moving along very shortly....


	10. Chapter 10

--- Three weeks later ---

Sasori tapped his pencil against his leg, one hand on his cheek, his elbow resting on his desk. Gray eyes were narrowed at a sheet of paper lying in front of him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hidan's ghost flipping off a prep, who, as the dead zealot had told him, trash talked Kakuzu one day, shortly after the albino's death. Sasori rolled his eyes as he scanned the next question.

Deidara was off following Ino around, and Itachi was going after Kisame. And the three spirits had agreed to have at least one of them with Sasori nearly all the time, so he was stuck with Hidan.

Hidan wasn't pleased about that.

_Name the three parts of the spine, and..._ blah blah blah...Sasori didn't know the answer to the dammed thing. He hadn't studied for his biology test at all. It wasn't easy to concentrate on anything with three ghosts, one the spirit of your best friend, jabbering away all night. And since they had no need to sleep, the ghosts keep Sasori up as they talked all night long.

And as happy as Sasori was to have his best friend back, even if he was kinda...dead, it was still weird when Deidara asked him something when someone else was around. If Sasori answered the blonde, he looked crazy, if he didn't Deidara got mad.

So far, the red head was earning a rep as a nutter.

_"Sasori...can you kill that bitch for me?"_ Hidan asked, gliding over and pointing to the prep, who was staring into space, tapping her lips with her pencil, which was now stained pink with lipstick.

Mutely, Sasori shook his head and put a finger to his lips.

_"Oh yeah...you sound crazy if you answer, because to others, you'll be talking to the air...sorry..."_ Hidan glided away towards the ceiling, and Sasori breathed a quiet sigh of relief. At least Hidan was slightly more considerate about where he talked to Sasori than Deidara...

* * *

Kisame sighed and glanced at the clock. 1:26. Class should have started 16 minutes ago.

Apparently, the old teacher for his LA class was on maternity leave for the rest of the school year, and they would be getting a new teacher today, as well as some new students transferring in, due to bullying issues.

Kisame jerked his head up when he heard the door open; although everyone else ignored it. Sasori and Kakuzu walked in, grumbling to each other. They were both dressed in their typical black clothing, and they wore necklaces. Around Sasori's neck hung a cross, and on his rest, a silver bracelet with a grinning skull, chains attached to his belt. Kakuzu wore only a rosary, with not a cross, but a triangle within a circle, which he was fingering absentmindedly, the metal bright against his black shirt

"Hey!" the shark called to them. Sasori looked over in his direction and cocked his head, pointing him out to the miser.

"Hey, Kisame. Didn't know you were in here," the red head said as he walked over to the shark's desk, Kakuzu behind him. Kisame had to struggle to hear him over the chatter of the other students.

"Why're you two in here?"

Kakuzu sighed and sat down on the desk next to Kisame's, hands shoved in his pockets. "Some kid mouthed off about Hidan, so I tried to beat him up. Problem is, he's in a lot of my classes, and a prep, so when he went to the principal, it was my schedule that got changed," the miser said gloomily, running a hand through his thick brown hair.

"That sucks," Kisame winced in sympathy, fiddling with a rip in his black and red t shirt. "What about you, Sasori?"

Sasori shook his head. "Well...Someone just said I was crazy, and going to kill them, and given my temper, I would. So the same thing as Kakuzu, pretty much."

Kisame studied the red head for a second. "Why do you look so exhausted?"

Indeed, the red head looked terrible. His shaggy crimson hair was tangled and messy, dark bags surrounding his clouded eyes. He was paler than normal, and his usual clothing, black, ripped and faded jeans and shirts, were wrinkled. His chain that hung from his belt loop was was dulled and cracked.

"Because no offense, but you look awful."

Sasori grinned bitterly. He was so thankful he had excuse about his appearance that didn't involve mentioning three teens, now three and a half months dead. "Ino, that's Deidara's little sister, she lives with my and my sister. She's kinda in a depression right now, and she's been up all night lately, crying. So Sakura and I have to calm her down, which takes a while."

Well, Ino did get up every night, still crying. She got nightmares about her brother's death, and would break down sobbing. Sakura was usually the one who took care of her in moments like those, though, while Sasori tried to stop Deidara from possessing his sister, just to try and comfort her.

As Itachi had explained to the red head, possessing a mortal was exhausting for a ghost, and if they came back, possessing had taken part of their life force, shorting their lifespan. The weasel believed that just from possessing Sasori once, Deidara had lost five to ten years of his life.

Which was exactly why the weasel and the zealot weren't possessing Kakuzu and Kisame to convince them about their existence.

"...Sasori? Hey, you've been out of it for the past five minutes!" Suddenly, a hand was waving in front of Sasori's eyes, and the red head jumped, cursing himself for startling like that, so easily. Ah, the wonders of what sleep loss did to your brain.

"Sorry! I was just thinking...."

"Thinking when you're as tired as you are can't be good for you," Kakuzu grinned. Sasori shot him a glare, and was about to retort when the door opened.

The three teens whipped around. Standing in the doorway was a woman, middle aged, with curly red hair and pale skin. A choker of the brightest white pearls were strung around her neck, and she wore a lavender skirt and white blouse. A folder was tucked under one arm, and as she strode into the room, the door clicking shut behind her, she flipped her long hair over one shoulder, her heels clicking on the floor. She made her way through the now silent classroom and sat down behind her desk, glancing around the room with piercing magenta eyes. "Will everyone please take a seat?"

Sasori gaped at her, gray eyes huge, and Kisame frowned at the red head as he pulled his chair forward. "What's your problem?"

"I know her. She helped me a few weeks ago..." Sasori muttered as he took a seat in front of Kisame, Kakuzu sitting down in the seat to the shark's right.

When she was certain everyone had taken a seat, the woman got to her feet and turned around to the chalkboard, piking up a piece of white chalk and placing it to the black of the board. Slowly, she began to write, the squeak of chalk the only noise.

When she finished, she turned back around. On the board was the name Yu Hierarch. Sasori's eyebrow raised. In Japanese, Yu meant ghost, or at least something close to it.

"My name is Yu Hierarch," she began. "I'm twenty six and I'll be your teacher for the remainder of this year."

Yu stopped and smiled around the classroom. "Now, before we begin the lesson, I have a question for you all."

She took in a breath, still smiling.

"How many of you believe in ghosts?"

* * *

**Author's Comments:** FINALLY GOT THIS DONE!

I'm kinda suffering from sleep loss right now...so this may be a little weird, because I'm in a crazy loop right now.


	11. Chapter 11

"How many of you believe in ghosts?"

The class was silent for a moment, no one raising their hand. Yu frowned in confusion as she looked around the room. "No one? Oh dear..."

Sasori glanced at Kisame and Kakuzu. They were looking down at their desk, Kisame back to fiddling with his shirt, Kakuzu stroking the rosary he wore.

The red head could see the three ghosts standing behind the teens, Deidara's eyes fixed on the teacher, Itachi and Hidan's on their friends.

"You all will fail this class then," Yu declared, slamming her folder to the desk. "Spirits are such a part of our everyday lives...Even though I lost everything because of them, I still see no reason why you shouldn't believe in their existence."

People were exchanging looks by now, looking rather amused at their new teacher. Sasori frowned.

He didn't really trust her, talking about ghosts as she was in front of non believers. Could she have a sixth sense as well?

_"Danna...she's giving off this weird vibe, un..."_ Deidara whispered, gliding over to Sasori, Itachi nodding as Hidan merely sighed.

Yu, who had turned around to write on the board, whipped back around. "I want my class to remain silent for the whole lesson, if you can."

A prep, named Isabella Terza, timidly raised a hand, pink nails flashing in the light. Yu raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes?"

"But Ms Heirarch...no one was talking..." she said, looking confused as she fiddled with her low cut cami top. Yu merely smiled.

"There are people here you can't see, Isabella."

Isabella gasped. "How...How do you know my name?! We haven't told you our names..."

Yu's smile grew wider. "I told you, there are people here that know you, can see you, talk to you...but you can't reach out to them."

Isabella drew back, looking seriously scared. Sasori's frown grew deeper as he heard Deidara hiss.

_"She has spirit sight, danna...."_ the blonde whispered. Itachi nodded again.

_"How the hell can she fucking see us? A bitch like her..."_

Yu turned back to the board, then paused, twisting her neck to look back at the class. "And yes, young man, I do have spirit sight."

Deidara blanched, and he and the two other ghosts quickly floated back up to the ceiling.

Yu sighed and shook her head. "Sasori Akasuna, see me after school."  


* * *

Sasori sat down in the chair in front of his teacher's desk, having sent his spirits friends to go to his house ahead of him. Yu herself was standing by the window, looking out at the street, busy with students making their way home. Finally, she turned and faced the red head. "I know who you are."

Sasori raised an eyebrow. "What am I, then?"

She turned to face him, the light catching her hair and making it look like a burst of fire. "That dead blonde...he awoke your second sight, right?"

Slowly, he nodded.

"It'd going to get dangerous for you and those boys, the dead and living. Your spiritual power is stronger than you think, Sasori."

"Who are you?" Sasori whispered, getting to his feet and backing towards the door.

Yu sighed. "I'm a spiritual guide to the afterlife. I would have led your friends away by now, but they are bound here."

Sasori narrowed his eyes as he fiddled with his cross. "By what?"

"You. You, and Kakuzu and Kisame. They can't die because they are bound to you." Her smirk grew wider as she smoothed down her hair.

"They're bound to us?" Sasori whispered, feeling confused.

She nodded, hair bouncing, her smile growing. "You see, Sasori, they have regrets. And their regrets involve their closest friends." She paused. "What I'm saying is, they have something they need to tell you all before they can die and move on."

"What is it?" his voice was getting quieter.

Yu shrugged as she leaned against the window. "You need to find that out yourself. If I tell you what they have to say, they'll be stuck here forever."

Sasori felt his face grow white.

"And they'd always be here, unless a ghost hunter came for them. It's not just you that smells of spirits and power. They also are stronger than they believe."

Sasori cocked his head, red hair falling onto one shoulder as he shut one eye. "How are they powerful?"

Yu leaned her head back against the glass. "Let's just say that them dying had given them special abilities. I know a little about them, though. Itachi Uchiha...his gift is within his eyes. They can control, corrupt, destroy...easily."

"What about Hidan and Dei?" the red head asked.

"Deidara can create explosives out of anything, or that is what I've heard. That gift is rare, and very dangerous. Hidan...I don't know what he has yet...but Hidan has more spiritual power than either of the other two."

She closed her eyes. "He has power...a lot of it. Demons and humans are going to fight for his soul, along with Itachi's and Deidara's. They have something most ghosts don't, and that is why they are gifted."

She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. "You have to bring them back to life before their souls are destroyed. Find the naga called Orochimaru Asp. He will demand a price for their return, but if he finds out their power, he will try to use him."

Sasori stared at the woman. "Demons...want their souls?" he choked out. She looked down at him and nodded.

"A demon is coming here for them, and most likely for you as well. Many, in fact, but this one is the strongest. I'm betting she will go for their souls, and kill you as well."

"She?"

Yu sighed. "Yes, a female demon, one who sings songs to call souls to hell and rips them apart before Satan himself. The most powerful in the underworld, the singer of death..." she paused, shoving her hair from her face.

"My twin sister."

* * *

**Author's Comments:** Yay, it's done...time to go finish up that vocab homework...


	12. Chapter 12

Sasori sighed, shoving his red hair from his face as he headed for the front door. Even though Yu had explained some more to him, the red head was still feeling lost and confused.

Apparently, Sasori had, thanks to Deidara, gotten to power to manipulate an inner energy, and channel it to his hands, creating a web of a visible light. Yu didn't understand it completely, but Sasori could shove chakra, that energy, into someone's system to allow them to see spirits, without taking away from his life.

She warned him to practice with it before he tried it out on anyone, though, and not to tell the three spirits of their various powers, at least not until she had pinned down Hidan's ability.

SLAM

Sasori had been so busy thinking he hadn't noticed the door, and was now sprawled on the tiled floor, rubbing at his head. His bag had come open from the fall, his books and pens spread across the floor.

"Great..." he sighed, as he crawled around, searching to make sure he had everything. When he was sure that he had found all his books and stuffed them into his bag, he got to his feet, brushing out his jeans as he stood.

The door creaked open, the noise soft, and not harsh, for once. Sasori shook his hair out of his eyes as he stepped out on the steps, looking around, before his eyes widened.

Kisame and Kakuzu were leaning against the bike rack, talking. Kakuzu was twisting his pendant around his hands as he spoke, and behind him, the red head could see Hidan, floating crossed legged and studying Kakuzu.

Itachi floated just behind Kisame, Deidara next to the Uchiha, talking to him.

"Hey, what are you doing here?!"

Kakuzu and Kisame glanced up. "What did she want you for?" Kisame asked, shoving himself off the rack and to his feet.

Sasori drew a blank. Time to lie again... "She wanted to talk to me about some homework I hadn't turned in to my previous LA teacher," he said finally, walking down the steps and over to the five teens.

Deidara waved at him. _ "Danna!"_

Sasori shook his head a little bit, and Deidara frowned, but remained silent.

"Ah. That makes sense..." Kakuzu said thoughtfully, rubbing a finger over the pendant.

_"I just realized..."_ Hidan whispered, looking down at Kakuzu, lavender eyes wide.

_"What is it, Hidan, un?_

"He's wearing....my rosary..." Hidan said quietly, pointing at Kakuzu with one thin, icy white finger. The other two ghosts raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Itachi merely frowned, twisting his hair around his fingers.

"Hey..." Sasori began as the miser and shark picked up their bags. "Why are you wearing that necklace? Isn't that a Jashinist's pendant?"

Kakuzu heaved his backpack up to his shoulders before answering, pausing as he chose his words. "That's because...it is. This was Hidan's."

"So why are you wearing it?" Kisame asked, adjusting his straps. "Oh yeah, you wanna get something to eat? I don't have to pick up Sasuke for another hour or so, he has his club, and he'll need something after that."

Kakuzu shrugged as the three set off, the spirits just behind them. "Sure, I'll get something. Anyway, Hidan used to be really close to my family. He was always over at my house.

Since he spent so much time there, I gave him on of my dresser drawers to use, to store clothing in, so he didn't have to haul shit back and forth. When Hidan...died...I took his rosary right after I was sure he had stopped breathing. I kept it in my room, but didn't find it until last month.

Anyway, this morning, I was getting dressed, when Hidan's drawer-I haven't gotten rid of his stuff yet-fell out. His clothing stayed folded in it and everything, but just the necklace fell out onto the floor. It was kinda weird...but I picked it up, and just kinda...put it on, as an impulse."

Kakuzu finished speaking, shoving his hands into his pocket. "Hidan loved this dammed thing..." he mumbled. "Sometimes it felt like he cared more about this necklace than he did about anything, or anyone, else."

_"That's not true..."_ Hidan whispered, eyes clouded so the lavender was faded to lilac.

"I'm sure that isn't true," Sasori said comfortably, after glancing at the three ghosts as the three living teens crossed a street, heading for a small bagel shop.

Kakuzu smiled bitterly as the reached the sidewalk and headed for the bagel shop's door. "He was obsessed with his religion. If Jashin had ordered it, he would have sacrificed me, or anyone else," he said bitterly.

Hidan closed his eyes, face paler than normal. _"Not true, Kuzu...I would have never..."_

Deidara and Itachi shot the immortal worried looks. _"Hidan, un....He really does know you would never do that..."_

"Mm...yeah..." Kisame pushed open the door, and the small bell, hanging from the handle, jingled pleasantly. "You keep that as a way to remember him, right?"

"Yeah..." the miser muttered as they headed for the small line.

Kisame smiled sadly. "Sasori probably has something to remember Deidara by, right?"

Sasori jerked his gaze away from the three spirits. "Huh? To remember Dei? Yeah..." he mumbled. He couldn't say he didn't _need_ to have anything, he had his friend's ghosts...but he did have something, a small clay bird that Deidara had given him for his birthday. Sasori had been surprised to discover that the blonde had not put a bomb in it, and still keep it on his desk.

"I don't have much to remember Itachi by," Kisame continued as they moved ahead. "Just a necklace that he liked a lot. And also Sasuke. Sasuke just looks a lot like his brother..."

"Just like Ino looks like Dei, except for the fact she's a girl," Sasori grinned.

"Yeah, kinda," Kisame said, turning to face the bored looking employee. "Hi, can I have a plain bagel with cream cheese, and a sesame bagel, toasted with strawberry cream cheese?"

The employee nodded and left to get the food as Sasori and Kakuzu decided what to have, the red head finally choosing a cinnamon raisin bagel, and the miser a plain toasted.

The three living teens leaned against the wall as they waited, the three ghosts hovering right by them. Hidan still looked pale, eyes clouded, Deidara and Itachi watching the albino worriedly.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Kakuzu asked suddenly.

Kisame and Sasori turned to look at him, confused looks on their faces. "Why do you ask?" Kisame asked.

Kakuzu shrugged. "I dunno. But our new teacher...I've been thinking of what she asked us. Do you?"

Kisame sighed and ran and hand through his hair. "Not really. But I wish I did, sometimes. I wish I could see them, because then maybe...I could see Itachi again."

"Yeah..." Kakuzu mumbled, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. "Same here. Hidan always did believe in ghosts, but I always...just laughed at him about it. What about you, Sasori?"

This time, Sasori knew it was coming, and had an answer ready. "I guess...yeah, I kind of do. It explains things that can't be explained any other way."

Kakuzu and Kisame opened their mouths to speak, but by then, there food was ready, and Sasori quickly shoved by them, not giving them a chance to talk.

Hidan still looked blank, eyes still clouded.

* * *

**Author's Comments:** I wrote this on the way to Wyoming, so...it's messed up, yeah...

This whole chappie is based off a converstation that Tsubaki and I had...

...A long time ago. I doubt she even remembers it. And yeah, we had been eating bagels, Tsubaki and I, when we were talking about death and stuff.


	13. Chapter 13

Kisame leaned against the wall of Sasuke's middle school, waiting for the younger Uchiha to get out from his fencing club, the boy's bagel tucked safely into his backpack, which lay on the ground by his feet.

The shark shut his eyes momentarily, leaning his head back on the cool stones. So..very...peaceful...and quiet...

"Kisame..."

Kisame's golden eyes snapped open, and he looked up to see a tired looking Sasuke walking over to him, backpack slung over one shoulder, the red straps bright against his black shirt. "Oh...Hi, Sasuke. How was school?"

Sasuke sighed as he leaned over, opening the shark's bag and pulling out the small package that held his snack. "It sucked..." he mumbled, as he ripped away the paper from the bagel and sitting down on the ground, leaving crackling under him.

"Why?"

Sasuke rested his food on his knee, looking at the ground with exhausted and pained pitch black eyes. "Someone...made fun of me...because my brother is dead, and my parents don't care for me, and I live with my brother's best friend."

Kisame narrowed his eyes. "Anything else?"

"He called Aniki a fag..." Sasuke muttered, not looking at Kisame.

Kisame sighed and rolled his eyes. "Again, huh?"

"Yeah..." Sasuke whispered, biting into his snack and chewing it softly. "Reminds me of that time, when Itachi was still allowed out of the hospital, when you two were in freshman year. And that junior started hitting on Itachi."

The shark snorted and rested his head against the brick wall. "Yeah..Well, he did look girly...but don't pay any attention to them when they call him that. Itachi as straight...I think."

Sasuke looked up at him, his bagel half eaten. "You think?"

"Itachi...never really made his gender preferences clear, Sasuke," Kisame explained. "I think he just enjoyed being a mystery."

"Ah..." Sasuke looked thoughtful. "Well, that comment dug into me..."

"Alright, why did it, is there something you're not telling me, and who said that anyway?"

"It was Neji Hyuga...and..." the younger Uchiha paused, looking away again, twisting a finger inti a piece of the brown grass he sat on.

"What is it?" the shark asked gently.

"Well...you know my best friend, Naruto Uzumaki?" Sasuke began slowly, looking nervous. But Sasuke never got nervous, never...

"Yeah. That hyperactive blonde with a hearing disorder who is also has OCD, right?"

"That's him. I think.." Sasuke gulped. "I think I may have a crush on him."

* * *

Sasori reached his hand out in front of him, and frowned as he forced all his thoughts to that limb. The three ghosts were off trying to cheer up Hidan, who was rather...depressed.

Ino and Sakura were going over to their friend TenTen's house, to work on a history paper that was due the next day.

Meaning the red head was alone in his bedroom. It was the perfect chance to try out his supposed power.

Sasori shut his eyes. Yu had told him he could channel energy to his hands...his hands...they were feeling warm...

Gray eyes shot open, looking down at his thin hand before they widened in shock, and he stumbled backwards.

His hand was surrounded by a glowing blue, his fingernails and pale skin reflecting the color around his messy room.

Power raced through his arm, tinglingly and pleasant at first, but becoming more and more painful, increasing...increasing...until the shock became too much, and Sasori collapsed into a pile of dirty laundry, the glow dying as he fainted.

* * *

**Author's Comments:** This sucks, and is short, but I really don't care right now.


	14. Chapter 14

_"Danna? Wake up, un..._" the concerned voice hovered just above the red head, sounding so distant, even though the speaker was so close...

Sasori groaned and opened his eyes. They were blurred for a second, and he blinked hard, trying to clear them as his room came into sharper focus.

Deidara's ghost was hovering just in front of Sasori, the transparent knees showing the stacks of book and clothing lying around right through them. The blonde's face was worried, his forehead scrunched up as he studied the red head.

"Dei?" Sasori asked groggily as he placed his hand on a stained shirt, pushing himself up. As he looked around, he realized that the only other person in the room, asides from himself, was the blonde. "Where are Hidan and Itachi?"

Deidara shrugged as he began to float up off the floor, legs crossing in front of him. _"Hidan still is depressed. He really won't sacrifice Kakuzu, un,"_ the blonde muttered, looking down at his see through hands.

Sasori shook his head as he got to his feet. "Yeah...seeing how much he talks about him, I'll bet not," he said, allowing his exhaustion to hint at his voice.

The blonde frowned at him, looking back up, eyes showing his concern. _"Why was danna passed out in a pile of dirty laundry, un?"_

"Just...tired..." Sasori mumbled, running his hands through his hair. "Dei...what did you mean by that you got a weird vibe from Ms. H?" he asked slowly. Now that he knew what Yu was, a guide to the afterlife, he could see if Deidara had gotten that she held great power. It guide the dead to their eternal rest....that must be such a painful job...

_"Just what it sounds like, un. She isn't normal, danna. I don't trust her!"_ he said, crossing his arms, voice growing thin as he spoke, blue eyes clouding over.

Sasori raised his arms slowly. "I don't doubt that she is weird," he began slowly. If only the blonde knew _how_ strange Yu Heirarch was....he had no idea. "But how does she give you a weird feeling?"

The blonde sighed and stretched out onto his back in the air. _"There's this sensation in the air around her, un. It's like she's calling something to her, and the very air we breathe---"_

"You don't breathe," Sasori cut in, grinning. Deidara flashed him an annoyed look before continuing.

_"She isn't human, danna, un. She has a sixth sense, it's so obvious..."_ his words trailed off, and Sasori frowned.

"How is it obvious?"

Silence.

"Dei?" Sasori asked, waving a hand in front of the blonde's now unblinking crystalline azure eyes. "Dei....hello in there?"

_"People with a sixth sense just...smell different,"_ Deidara finally said, his words startling Sasori. _"They smell more like death than those who don't, un. It's because if you have a strong sixth sense, you live in the world of the dead, un. You are half dead, to see spirits, you have to be."_

Sasori felt shivers race up and down his spine as he bent over, beginning to clean up his filthy room. "I'm...half dead?" he asked slowly, not looking at Deidara.

A sigh. _"One advantage to being like that is that you're going to be harder to kill, danna, un."_

Sasori straighted up, a pile of shirts in his arms, and spun around to face the blonde. "What those that mean? Am I immortal?"

Deidara studied his face for a moment, oddly quiet. It was so strange to see the blonde this quiet...Deidara, in both in life and death, had been practically impossible to shut up. When the blonde had still been alive, the red head would sometimes have to resort to duck tape to get the blonde to shut up long enough for the Akasuna to say something.

Finally, Deidara spoke again. _"Not really, un. You can't be killed by very many mortal weapons anymore...guns and bombs and stuff like that."_

"So what _CAN_ kill me?" Sasori asked, walking to his door, heaving it open with one hand as the other balanced the stack of shirts and throwing them into the carpeted hallway before looking back at his best friend.

Deidara was watching the ceiling again. _"Swords and knives can, un,"_ he whispered, eye blank.

Sasori studied him quietly. The blonde must have been remembering his own death. To be torn apart, ripped to shreds by falling plaster and bricks, burned alive as the killer laughs hysterically, having wanted this...no, this wasn't the best time to be mentioning the blonde's talent, devolped through his violent death.

Sasori didn't want to hurt the blonde.

"So...Anything else besides blades?" Sasori prodded the blonde. Slowly, Deidara nodded.

_"I'm not sure about this...but demons will kill you. Unless you have some kind of power or something-"_ Sasori flinched -_"then you have no chance against the undead, un."_

Sasori sighed as he pushed his way over to his bed, Deidara floating just behind him. "That's just so reassuring," he griped.

Deidara gave him a brief smile as Sasori sat down on the bed and watched the red head yawn. _"Is danna tired?"_

"No, it's just so easy to sleep with three dead people talking all night long," the red head repiled, sarcasm dripping from every word.

Deidara shook his head, still smiling. _"I'll let you sleep, un. I need to find Itachi and Hidan anyway..."_The blonde began to glide toward the ceiling.

Sasori gulped. "Dei?"

The blonde looked back down at him, blonde hair nearly brushing the ceiling. _"Yes, danna, un?"_

"Be careful," Sasori whispered, feeling that something was going to happen, something powerful coming, for better or worse.

Deidara gave him a gentle smile. _"Of course, danna."_

And with that, he was gone, and Sasori was left staring at the ceiling, feeling very nervous, and he felt something burn, both behind his eyes and on his face.

The door creaked open, and Sakura poked her head in, pink hair as mussed as her eyes were tired. "Sasori, Ino and I are back and---what the hell are you doing, staring at the ceiling like an idiot?! Geez, you'd think you saw a ghost or something, with the look on your face..."

* * *

**Author's Comments:** Very, very boring fluff....Moving on....


	15. Chapter 15

_Itachi sighed and shook his head, watching the zoned out look on the albino's face. "Come on, Hidan. You know he didn't mean it," the weasel half begged. It was so strange to see Hidan like this...he was usually almost as full of energy as Deidara was._

Hidan looked at him, one eyebrow raised, his expression still sad and lost. "Kakuzu always tells the truth, or at least as much as he can, Itachi. He did mean it."

Alright, this was bad. Hidan wasn't swearing six times in one sentence like he normally did.

"Hidan, please. I'm sure that he---" Itachi cut of his words and looked around, his expression growing alarmed as his eyes widened.

Hidan narrowed his eyes at his friend. "What is it?" he asked suspiciously.

Itachi didn't reply right away. His black eyes looked...strange. As Hidan studied them, he noticed that...they weren't all black any more. "Something's coming," the Uchiha finally whispered, voice quiet and strained.

"Itachi..." Hidan cocked his head to the side. Itachi's eyes were changing...from dark, dark black to bloody crimson.

Itachi flicked his now red eyes towards the albino, the iris's glowing under the sunbeams that passed right through the two. "What is it, Hidan?"

"Your eyes..." Hidan whispered, pointing at the weasel. Itachi's frown grew deeper as a fine line made it's way between his eyebrows. What about his eyes?

"What about them?"

Hidan mutely shook his head, his own eyes wider than Itachi could ever remember seeing them be. "They're...turning red..."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"ITAAAAACHIIIIII, UN!" Itachi quickly floated upwards, out of the way of the impending glomp, and Deidara sailed right under him, crashing into Hidan and sending them both flying backwards. Deidara shook his head as he sat up, gliding backwards until he was face to face with Itachi, azure eyes annoyed.

"Itachi, why the hell did you..." the blonde's words trailed off as he looked over Itachi. "Itachi, what the hell happened to your eyes, un?!"

Itachi leaned back back, wrapping his hands around his crossed ankles. "First of all, I have no idea, because I can't really see them, so I have no idea what you're talking about. Now tell me, what is wrong with them?"

"They're RED, un! RED! EYES AREN'T SUPPOSE TO BE THAT COLOR!" Deidara screeched, tugging at his hair as Itachi pressed a hand to his head, almost embarrassed at his friend's childish behavior, even though no one could see them. Hidan floated over, looking almost amused as he fixed his hair.

"I told you they looked strange, you dammed weasel," the albino said smugly. Itachi glared at him, and Hidan's eyes widened again.

In Itachi's eyes, there were three small dot surrounding his pupil. As he watched, the three dots grew and stretched, reaching for the black as the line the dots were on grew thicker. "Itachi..."

Itachi felt something coursing through him, the power focusing on his eyes. It burned, and the Uchiha was afraid if he left it in, it would burn him, destroy him. So he let out the feeling...straight at Hidan.  


* * *

Hidan was in a completely different place, and he was standing on black water, staring up at a white sky and a black sun that gave off no heat. It was cold here...so cold...Hidan suppressed his sudden urge to shiver. The cold water beneath his feet lapped up against his pale skin, only increasing his discomfort, and he danced from foot to foot, arms wrapped around him in a attempt to keep his body heat in.

"Welcome to Tsukiyomi," a voice whispered in his ear, so much like Itachi's, but not, and Hidan jumped at the sudden sound. He hadn't noticed anyone else here, in the strange world. "Here, you are going to live your deepest fears for the next 48 hours."

Hidan whipped around, searching for the voice. Instead, he found himself staring at Kakuzu. The teen was staring up at the sky, hair covering his face so Hidan couldn't read his expression. He dressed almost as he had been when Hidan had seen him earlier that day, in black jeans and shirt. The only difference was that he wasn't wearing Hidan's rosary.

"...K...Ka...kuzu..." he whispered,arms dropping to his sides, trying to take a step towards the boy, only to stop dead as Kakuzu looked down at him.

Blood dripped from a corner of the miser's mouth. Long, bloody cuts trailed themselves down his friend's cheeks and his arms, what little of them the albino could see from the long sleeved shirt. The tips of his brown hair was soaked in the red liquid, eyes cold and dead as blood dripped into them from a gash in his forehead.

_"You're the one who did this to me, Hidan," _Kakuzu whispered. Hidan's eyes widened in shock.

"Kakuzu, no! Please, I would never...." Hidan gasped out, feeling his body begin to shake as his eyes burned. There was no way this was happening, no way, it couldn't be...

The bloody figure too a step towards him, blood dripping into the cold water beneath their feet and clouding it even more than it already was. _"It's all your fault...because your Jashin ordered it...my death.."_

Hidan shook his head, tears now coursing down his pale face. "Kakuzu...I would never do that..." he whimpered, feeling the tears drip off his face.

The figure gave him a small bloody smile, revealing broken teeth as more blood dripped down his chin. _"Everything for your god...You'll even sacrifice friends, if only for your god..."_

Hidan doubled up, his breath racking his chest as he shook, not wanting to look at the bloody sight before him. "NO! THIS CAN'T BE REAL! IT CAN'T, IT CAN'T!" he screamed, tangled his fingers in his hair.

He stopped when he felt something drip in between his clenched fingers and down into his face. Slowly, he raised his head and lower his hand to the front of his face.

His nails were encrusted in drying blood, the same thing splattering all the way down his thin arms. He stared down in to the water; blood was dripping down from his hair into his face. Horrified, he looked back up at Kakuzu, only to see that the figure of his friend was lying sprawled out on the water, a huge scythe stuck in his chest.

_"What a good follower...killing his friends, everyone important to him, all for his god..."_ a cold voice whispered in his ear.

Hidan couldn't take it. His sobs were the only sound in the cold, empty world as the voice faded, words still ringing in his ears.  


* * *

_"AHHHHHHHH!" Hidan screamed, clutching at his head, fingers mussing his just smoothed back hair. Deidara's eyes widened as he looked from Itachi to Hidan._

Itachi's eyes were focused on the doubled up teen, his gaze cold as he watched the albino scream and writhe in pain before him.

"STOP IT, ITACHI, UN!" Deidara screamed finally, throwing his body at Itachi and knocking the weasel over. Itachi's eyes left Hidan's face, and the second they did, Hidan's creams quieted down, only to be replaced by soft sobbing.

Deidara got to his feet, glaring down at the Uchiha, who was looking down, towards the earth. "What the hell did you do to him, un?!" the blonde yelled, yanking Itachi up by his collar.

The weasel won't meet his eyes, and instead, stared down to the side.

"ANSWER ME, UN!" Deidara screeched, shoving his face in Itachi's, eyes narrowed at his friend. "What did you DO to him?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Itachi screamed back, finally facing Deidara. His eyes had faded back to their usual black, all traces of red gone, his face twisted up in a expression of pain. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID, HOW I DID IT! I DON'T KNOW!"

Deidara dropped Itachi's collar, and the weasel, who hadn't been expecting it, fell before he could catch himself. "You did something, un," the blonde whispered as he glided over to Hidan. The silver haired teen laid curled up in a small ball, sobbing into his hands. "Come on, we have to get him to danna. Maybe he knows what happened."

Itachi nodded and slowly glided over, helping Deidara to pick up the teen. "I didn't mean to..." the weasel whispered as they set off for Sasori's house.

"We need to find out what that was," Deidara replied, his voice unnaturally cold, blue eyes hard. "We need answers, now."

* * *

**Author's Comments:** Um...yeah...I'm tired, and when I'm tired, I'm mean...and I took it out of Hidan....


	16. Chapter 16

Kakuzu paused in typing his essay for science when the phone rang.

Sighing, he leaned across the desk and picked up the cordless, staring at the glowing orange caller ID.

TAYUYA NECO

Tayuya was Hidan's cousin, two years older than Kakuzu, in college, and while Hidan fought with her constantly when he was alive, she had still gotten along better with him than he had with anyone else in his family. Tayuya was brash, loud, had a swearing problem almost as bad as Hidan had had, but she still called Kakuzu once in a while, just to see how her cousin's friend was holding up.

Kakuzu smiled weakly as he hit 'talk'. He couldn't act or sound depressed while talking to her, she would get mad, and a mad Tayuya was never a good thing.

"Hello?" he asked hesitantly, holding the phone a few inches away from his ear as a precaution.

"Oy, fucker. How ya holding up?" her voice came back, loud as usual and broken up by the static.

Kakuzu sighed as he scrolled down on his mouse, watching the words flash by. "Oh, fine, fine."

A snort. "You're not as depressed as you were a few weeks ago?"

"No, I'm better," Kakuzu rolled his eyes as he hit 'save'. "I just still miss him sometimes."

"Well at least you aren't sounding so fucking emo. Ya still dress like one?" Tayuya asked.

The miser paused, thinking his answer through before saying it. "I...I still dress in black, if that's what you mean, Tay."

Tayuya sighed; the sound cracking. "He's not coming back, dude. Just get over it. Anyway, I need to go. Orochimaru is getting a bunch of us together, we're gonna go hang."

"Cool. That Orochimaru is still dating that Kabuto, right?" Kakuzu asked, not really caring about the answer.

Tayuya gave a short bark of laughter. "Yeah. 'buto's such a pale assed pansy, can't see what Oro likes about him. And he always looks really cold."

"He's an albino, isn't...he..." Kakuzu's words trailed off. Hidan had been an albino.

Tayuya didn't seem to notice it. "Yeah, he is. Anyway, gotta run. I'll talk to you later."

"See you later, Tay."

CLICK

He hung up and slowly set the phone down, and kept his gaze on it before burying his head in his hands. Always, talking to Tayuya reminded him too much of talking to Hidan.

"Dammit, 'dan..." he whispered to his hands. "Can't you see what you've done to me?"  


* * *

Kisame stared at the ceiling, counting the cracks in it. Sasuke was asleep, finally, and Kisame could hear his soft breathing, even from the living room.

Sighing, Kisame got to his feet, glancing towards Sasuke's bedroom, the shut oak door blocking his view of seeing the boy. He smiled bitterly.

Sasuke had told him that he, the youngest Uchiha, was in love with his best friend, who was obsessed with some pink haired bitch named Sakura.

At least _his_ best friend was still alive.

Kisame walked over to the large window, staring out at the darkened city. Automatically, he felt his eyes being drawn to the hospital, a mere six blocks away from his apartment.

The shark sighed and pressed a palm to the glass, eyes still on the large white building.

"Dammit, 'tachi...I wish you were here...You'd know what to do with Sasuke's little problem...you were always the one who always knew what to do..." the shark whispered, looking out at the night. "Why did you leave, Itachi?"

* * *

_"Come on, Itachi, un!" Deidara yelled, looking down at the now unconscious Hidan. "We HAVE to get him to danna!"_

Itachi pressed a hand to his head as he tried to catch up to Deidara. "Dei...wait...my eyes..."

Deidara spun around to face them. "What about them?"

"They...hurt..." Itachi whispered, gliding up to his friend. "It feels...like they're...burning..."

Deidara shook his head sadly. "I don't have anything to help you, un. Let's keep going..." He lifted Hidan up a bit, and slowly, the two spirits took off.

* * *

**Author's Comments:** This is probably what I would call a filler. Only important part is the beginning.


	17. Chapter 17

He wasn't going to faint this time, Sasori promised himself.

As a precaution, he was sitting on his messy bed, back to the wall as the red head raised his arm up to eye level once again. His room was finally quiet; Sakura had retreated to the downstairs kitchen to help Ino with making dinner after lecturing her older brother about the state of his bedroom.

For a fourteen year old girl, Sakura was remarkably bossy.

Deidara was still off checking on Hidan and Itachi were doing. No annoying spirits, no irritating sisters. It was perfect.

This time, as Sasori forced that tingling feeling to race down his arm again, he kept his eyes open, watching his skin closely.

Nothing happened at first, but as the seconds ticked by, a soft light began showing up under his long fingernails, shining though his black nail polish he always wore. Sasori didn't let the shock he felt grow on his face as the soft blue grew stronger and the light began to creep down his thin pale hand, stopping once it hit his wrist.

Sasori's hand was now completely covered in the otherworldly blue. And that strange feeling was back, racing up and down his arm.

Sasori frowned as the power in his arm built up, his skin sinking in and crushing down on his nerves, cutting off blood flow. Sasori winced as it throbbed, and suppressed a gasp as it tightened even more. He had to let this out, somehow.

But the red head had now idea how to do that, except for one idea, but thinking of that left only once word ringing in his head: corny.

But it was either that, or let his arm be overwhelmed by the pain that came with the blue light. And this was his power, he had to learn to control this, didn't he?

Sasori, sighing loudly at the completely idiocy of what he was about to do, close his eyes and pictured his hand, each fine boned knuckle and thin finger. At the end of each fingertip, he replaced his nail with a small wooden gate, latched shut.

As the power built, he let each gate swing open, releasing the light, and as he did so, the pressure on his nerves loosened, the pain fading to a mere fuzzy feeling.

Grinning now, Sasori allowed his eyes to open, and he looked down at his hand, bracing himself for what he might see.

Strands of the soft blue light reached out like spiderwebs across the Akasuna's messy bedroom, attaching themselves to various object lying around. The light shone around his room, giving it even more of a ghostly air than it already had had.

Sasori let his eyes trace the thread that started on his index finger, following it's path as it wove around his many stacks of laundry and piles of books lying on the floor.

Finally, his clear gray eyes found it's end, attached to the hand of a old doll of Sakura's, the body mangled from when a ten year old Sasori had stuffed it in the blender. The plastic, unreal anorexic stomach of the doll was ripped open, the soft squishy face torn and destroyed. One leg was long lost to the mysterious black hole that seemed to only strike in Sasori's room, the arms bent and hanging on by a single piece of wire.

Sasori studied the ruined remains of the doll in quiet amusement, then his eyes moved to the light that surrounded her hand. Sasori slowly twitched his finger.

The doll's hand jerked downwards, the momentum sending her flying off her perch on his dresser.

Sasori moved all of his hand, and his eyes widened as a book sailed off his desk, slamming into the ceiling. Two shirts flew across the room into his closet door and one draped itself over his door knob as the other fell limply to the ground. His iPod flew out of his desk drawer and came to a safe landing by the red head, bouncing as it landed on the bed.

Sasori's grin grew wider and he allowed his thread to come back, and as the power retreated into his hands, he allowed the mental gates to swing shut behind them, blocking their exit off.

Not a moment too soon.

Deidara supporting a unconscious Hidan came crashing in through his ceiling, followed by Itachi, who was clutching at his eyes, paler than normal and usually neatly tied back hair sticking up at all angles.

_"DANNA, HELP!"_

* * *

**Author's Comments:** Sasori is like me in this.

See, I like to destroy Barbies (though your mom will get mad if you try and roast them on the grill) and there is this black hole in my room that likes to eat ,y homework.

Next chappi will be longer, promise!


	18. Chapter 18

Sasori jumped off his bed, gaping at Hidan and Itachi.

Hidan was pale, and although Sasori knew ghosts didn't sweat, there was sheen to Hidan that didn't belong there. His eyes were shut tightly, tears stains making their way down his cheeks. His whole body was shaking, his breathing, although ghosts didn't have an need to even pretend to breath, was catching in his throat, shoulders shuddering.

Itachi was also pale and seemed clammy. As he took his hands away from his eyes, Sasori could see that they were outlined in dark bags, his black hair and eyes a sharp contrast to his ice white skin.

Deidara looked hysterically. His hair was partially pulled out of his ponytail, blue eyes wide as they stared pleadingly at Sasori. _"Danna, please, un!"_

Sasori didn't speak instantly. "Dei, I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong. Now set Hidan over my bed, and take a breath."

Deidara nodded, and floated over, feet trailing a foot of the ground, releasing his hold on Hidan's pale arm, allowing the Jashinist to flop, floating mere inches above the bed, then sat crossed legged in the air, eyes shut as he took a few breaths, calming himself.

Sasori walked over to the Uchiha, who was staring blankly at the wall, not noticing as the red head made his way over, trying not to trip on the clothing lying around. "Itachi, I need you to just...sleep or something for a moment."

Itachi started and turned to the red head, opening his mouth to protest, but Sasori raised a hand and Itachi fell silent once more. 'I know, I know. Spirits have no need of rest. But you look exhausted, so at least try."

Itachi shot a glance over at the albino and blonde, worry painted on every line on his face. The Akasuna sighed. "Itachi, I'll deal with them. Please, try to sleep."

Slowly, not looking at Sasori, Itachi nodded, then laid himself out horizontally in the air, eyes drooping shut as Sasori heard his breathing even out and slow.

Sasori went back over to his bed and sat down besides the two spirits. Deidara slowly opened his azure eyes, the color bright in the dimmed room. Damn, Deidara had the brightest eyes Sasori had ever seen...and they were so full of life, even though the blonde was dead.

"Alright Dei, tell me what happened."

_"Well...I found Hidan and Itachi, un. And I tried to glomp Ita, but the lousy weasel moved out of my way before I could, un. Then, I began talking to Itachi."_

His eyes...they were strange, un. They were RED. RED. And then...he kinda did something, glaring at Hidan, un. And the next thing I knew, Hidan was on the ground."

Hidan was sobbing, un. Itachi was staring at him like he didn't care that he was so upset, and his eyes were still red. So I forced him to stop staring at Hidan, un."

His eyes went back to black, un. And then he began to complain of headaches and that his eyes burned . I brought them to you because it was the only thing I could think of doing, un." Deidara paused, and stared at Sasori.

Sasori took a breath. Time to tell him...."Dei...there was something...I didn't tell you..." he said slowly.

Deidara narrowed his azure eyes at him. _"What is it, danna?"_

"You, and Itachi and Hidan...all have special....powers. Yu told me about them. You...can blow anything up, anything at all. Itachi as some strange power with his eyes, and Hidan...she wasn't sure of what he could do...yet."

_"That strange teacher told you that, un? I have a...power?"_ Deidara seemed confused and overwhelmed, and Sasori didn't blame him.

"Yes, Dei. And since you gave me a better second sight...I have powers as well. Mine involves enhancing second sight, without any consequence to me. But...I think there may be a healing element to it as well...because I just used it....and I feel better than ever."

Deidara leaned forward, staring into Sasori's eyes, searching for a lie. _"Do you think...that maybe your power can help Hidan, un?"_

"Maybe..." Sasori frowned. "I'll try. I'm not sure of what I can and can't do...but I'll try."

Sasori let his power stream to his hands as he shut his eyes, and he heard Deidara's gasp as the fuzzy feeling began to take over his fingers tips.

Instead of making the small gates at the end of each fingertip; this time, the gate was in his hand, covering his whole hand, and as it swung open, he felt all his power flowing out of that one area.

Slowly, he opened his gray eyes, looking at Deidara first. The blonde's whole face was set alight from the blue glow, eyes wide, mouth dropped open as he stared at Sasori's hands.

Sasori let his own gaze drop.

A thick stream of light ran between his left and right hand. He hadn't realized he had raised both, but there it was, stretching between one hand to the other.

Sasori turned slowly to face Hidan, gulping loudly as he brought the light close to the Jashinist's face, pausing right above.

The red head took a breath to steady his nerves. He wasn't sure that this would work....but he had to try, right?

Right.

Sasori lowered his arms, completely forgetting about Deidara as he let the light wash over Hidan, fill him up.

Sasori wasn't really all that sure of what he was doing, but what he was doing felt right, so he kept at it.

Suddenly, Hidan gasped, and Sasori jerked back, allowing the power to retreat back into his hands as he watched the albino.

Deidara floated over and pressed a hand to the no longer so pale Hidan's forehead, then smiled in relief. _"He doesn't feel so warm." _He turned to Sasori, his smile dropping as his eyes studied Sasori's face. _"Now...I think you have a lot to explain, un."_

* * *

**Author's Comments:** Excitement comes soon, I swear! Don't kill me!


	19. Chapter 19

--- Three weeks later ---

Sasori sighed and stared at the sky, watching the small wisps of the fall clouds lazily float by. He was sitting in the small backyard on the one deck chair that wasn't completely burned, the brisk air blowing through his jacket, and he shivered, before grabbing the zipper and closing it.

A leaf floated gently to the ground in front of him, and Sasori watched it's descent. It was all so peaceful....the birdsong, the falling leaves....

BOOM

And the spontaneously combusting plants.

_"Danna, look, look! I made the rose bush become art, un!_" Deidara crowed, pointing at the flames coming from the once living plant.

Hidan and Itachi, floating to the side and safely away from the flames, sighed, and ignored the blonde as Hidan tried to get Itachi to force awake what they had learned was Tsukiyomi, but hopefully not aim it at Hidan again.

Sasori sighed as he looked it over. He had told Sakura his latest school project was using explosives and dynamite, but she was still suspicious about exactly how Sasori managed to destroy so much of their backyard.

"Looks...um...great, Dei," he replied, shrugging. He really didn't know what to say. Over the last three weeks, Deidara had overcome his aversion to fire, and now, using his power, blew up anything Sasori would let him.

Which wasn't that much.

Meaning, anything in the yard was fair game, while the house was off limits. Deidara had once tried, a week after learning of his ability, to set fire to a squirrel, but only got as far as roasting the tail slightly.

And now, squirrels made a very wide detour around the Akasuna garden.

Deidara giggled, and pointing his transparent finger at a bucket, which was already warped with heat, the handle melted into the bucket itself.

The plastic burst into flames, and the stench of melting chemicals filled the air.

_"Deidara, it's a little hard to focus with that smell," _ Itachi complained, moving upwind and fanning his nose, Hidan following him, his face set into a grimace.

Every day at 4:00, Sasori sent his sister out of the house and took the ghosts to the backyard, giving them time to try out and practice with their powers. Hidan had still not figured out his ability, much to the Jashinist's annoyance, and spent time finding things Itachi to use his eyes on.

The first day they had tried out Itachi's power, Hidan had brought Sasori over to a mouse, and Sasori, using his power, had trapped it in the blue light, increasing it's second sight to the point where it could see Itachi.

And then Itachi had released his eyes on the poor thing.

When the small creature had finally stopped twitching, Hidan, looking a bit sick, had asked the weasel what images he had brought up in the mouse's mind.

Sasori, Deidara and Hidan had no idea moldy cheese could be so scary, but didn't press the matter while the Uchiha's eyes were still bloody.

Now....Deidara had almost full mastery over his power, and, to help Sasori out in science when he and his lab partner were mixing chemicals to get a reaction, blew up the test tube.

Luckily, the acid ONLY landed on the white board.

Itachi could use his eyes extremely well, and could activate Tsukiyomi when he wanted it 90% of the time. His sharp mind came in handy when prodding around someone's brain for their deepest fears.

Sasori figured out that with the power that came out of his hands, he could lift objects, heal things, and enhance spirit sight, although currently, he couldn't use it on anyone larger than a gopher, so animals were all Itachi had to practice on.

Life was going very well, in the red head's mind.

Except Hidan was a bit...off. Deidara and Sasori had tried, many times, to get the albino to say what he had seen in Tsukiyomi, but he never answered.

And they still need his power.

_"I need another mouse, Sasori,"_ Itachi called over, looking down at his latest victim's still twitching body.

"Another?!"

_"Can't you get something bigger? Mice are too easy; and they have such trivial fears...that one was scared of brooms...I need more creative torture,"_ Itachi replied, turning to face the red head and jerking his thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the mouse.

"You know that the squirrels don't come near here, Itachi," Sasori sighed, running a hand through his vivid hair.

_"Then go find a raccoon or something. Or we could pay a visit to the city jail, snap a few inmates' mind..."_

"I think I'm going to have to say no to that idea."

_"Hey, danna, can I---Hidan, un?"_ Deidara began, then cut himself off, looking over at the albino.

Hidan's lavender eyes were clouded, and he was staring dead ahead, his skin growing paler than normal.

Itachi and Deidara were frowning as they glided over, placing themselves in front of the Jashinist.

_"Hey....Hidan?"_Itachi waved a hand in front of Hidan's eyes. _"Are you there?"_

Suddenly, Hidan jerked backwards, turning a back flip in midair. He rightened himself, and then stared right at the two spirits, eyes still fogged over, his voice completely serious and distant, not sounding like his at all.

_"The streets are painted with blood of those we hold closest. A woman, pale as death with hair as dark as her heart cackles as she digs claws into a breaking heart, the owner of it still sobbing as she crushes it. Our souls are lost and taken for what they can do, and that power used to ruin what we used to know. That is our future, and she is coming."_

Hidan shook his head, eyes cleared as he opened them once again, then stared back at the stonic faces of the blonde and brunette, Deidara silent, face cold, Itachi's eyes shut off. _"Sorry, I kinda zoned out and---why the fuck are you staring at me like that?"_

* * *

**Author's Comments:** O_o I LEFT YOU WITH A CLIFFIE!

Yes, I is evil, and I didn't give Hidan suicide link, because how could a ghost preform that?!


	20. Chapter 20

"Alright, Sakura, now just sit very still," Sasori commanded, looking down at his sister.

Sakura fidgeted in the hard kitchen chair, watching her brother as he paced the kitchen. "This is for a school project, right?" she asked warily, flipping her hair out of her eyes.

"Hn. What time does Ino get back?" Sasori asked, coming near his sister and standing in front of her.

"TenTen said she would drop her off at about eight. What are you going to do?"

Sasori sighed. "We have a project for science....that involves pushing light out of our hands. It's a little hard to explain...."

Sakura narrowed her green eyes at the red head. "And how can you push light out of your hands, Sasori?"

Sasori grimaced, then sighed. "Uh....the science teacher...uh...put something into our hands that emit light, and...um...look, Sakura, I just need to see if this light does what it's suppose to."

"Which is what?" Sakura's tone was clearly suspicious.

"Um...increase your vision." Sasori almost winced once the words left his mouth. Yes, the light did increase vision, but not in the way Sakura would think. "And I swear, it has no side effects. Just trust me, okay?"

Sakura studied him for a moment before sighing and raising her hands in a gesture of defeat. "Fine, fine...but if it does anything to me besides what it's suppose to, you're going to wish you were never born."

"You're very scary for a kid with pink hair."

"Shut up."

* * *

Sasori gulped as he let the light flow back into his hands. Sakura sat very still in the chair, eyes shut tightly. "Sakura? I'm done."

"That wasn't that bad." She sounded surprised as she slowly opened her eyes and stretched, reaching her arms up towards the ceiling. "I mean, it felt like---OH MY FUCKING GOD!" She shrieked, arching her back as her eyes fully opened, and she crashed down to the ground.

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Yes, Sakura. It did make your vision better."

The girl gaped at the three spirits, who were floating by the coffee machine. Itachi looked amused by the whole thing, Deidara and Hidan unable to speak from laughter. _"Danna, her face..."_

Sakura slowly stood up, leaving the chair still lying on the ground. Her eyes never left the three transparent teens. "Is that...Dei?"

"No, he just happens to have blonde hair, a speech implement and calls me danna. Course, dummy," Sasori chided his sister.

Her face turned to him, still frozen in a look of shock. "But Deidara's dead. And so are those other two. His brother"-she pointed to Itachi-"Is in my class. He died of some disease a few months ago. And him"-her now shaking hand moved to point at Hidan-"He was in the paper, something about being killed by his parents for his religion."

_"No shit, girl,"_ Hidan gasped out between burst of giggles. _"Yeah, we're dead."_

Sakura turned huge eyes back on the albino. "I'm talking to dead people. I see dead people. I've gone crazy."

Sasori groaned and tugged at his hair. "It IS them, Sakura! Say something to convince her, Dei!"

_"Uh...."_ Deidara choked back a laugh as he glanced at Sasori before back at the alarmed Sakura. _"I'm....bi, un?"_

Sakura opened her mouth, shut it, opened it again as Sasori gave his best friend an incredulous look. "What the hell was that, Dei?" he forced out as Hidan broke out into another round of laughter.

_"Well, I AM, and I only told Sakura and Ino, un!"_ the blonde huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

_"I don't think Sasori needed to hear that,"_Itachi whispered to Deidara.

This was all too much for Sakura, and she staggered out of the room, swaying as she went. Sasori rolled his eyes when he heard a crash come from the direction of the stairwell. "I bet she passed out again."

_"What was the point of getting that bitch to see us?"_ Hidan asked, after a moment's silence.

Sasori smiled faintly. "Remember how Yu told me you guys have powers? Deidara with bombs, Itachi with his eyes, and now Hidan with the future?"

The three spirits nodded.

"Well, like Hidan said, somethings coming for us. I'm going to enhance Kakuzu's and Kisame's second sight, but I needed to test it on someone before I did."

_"So why did you pick your sister?"_ Itachi asked, his voice quiet.

Sasori shrugged. "Payback for that time she cut off my hair and Deidara's. And Dei...are you really bi?"

The blonde flushed. _"...Maybe, un. But that's not important now, right?"_

The red head sighed, not wanting to press the issue with Deidara now having full mastery over his talent. "Yeah...Now, help me come up with a cover story as to why my hands are glowing for Kakuzu and Kisame, alright?"

* * *

**Author's Comments:** I dun like this chappi much, but Suckura is now thinking she is insane, neh?

Eh, whatever.


	21. Chapter 21

She came a week later.  


* * *

Sasori leaned back in his chair, waiting for the science teacher to show up as he listened to the idle chatter of Kisame and Kakuzu. The three ghosts had yet to come up with a cover story that made sense, so all Sasori could do was wait for them to hurry up with it.

BANG

The door slammed open, and Sasori jerked his head to face forward so fast that he fell out of his chair and onto the hard, cold linoleum.

A woman stood at the front of the room, smiling as she looked at the students trying to rush to their seats as she brushed long, silvery hair out of her face. Azure eyes, cold and hard, unlike Deidara's warm blue, scanned the class until she found Sasori's wide gray.

She strode in and stood in front of the desk, hands on her hips. "Hello class. Just by looking at you, I can tell you are all heathens, who worship....that thing in heaven instead of our lord of darkness."

The class stared at her, before gazes turned on their friends, bemused.

"She's as weird as Ms Y, huh, Sori?" Kisame whispered.

Sasori frowned at the woman as she spoke again. "I am Ariana Heirarch, twin sister of your teacher, Yu. And I assure you, she is the complete opposite of me."

Her teeth flashed as she turned to the board.

The demon of hell, Satan's lover, was here.  


* * *

_"Sasori, I don't fucking give a DAMN how you get Kakuzu and Kisame to fucking see us, so long as you do it soon!"_ Hidan snapped at the red head.

Sasori growled at the ghosts, Itachi and Deidara nodding in agreement with the albino. Deidara, ever since admitting he was bi, would not look Sasori in the eye, so his blue gaze was fixed on the space over the red head's head.

. "Look, I know it's not a big deal to you three, but people's hands don't randomly glow," Sasori hissed.

_"They have to see us, and we have to find Orochimaru, sooner rather than later. Didn't you notice the look she gave you, Kakuzu and Kisame when handing out those worksheets?"_ Itachi shot back.

"How could I have NOT? I though her glare was going to burn right through my paper!" Sasori ran a hand through his hair. "Look, you guys. This is hard on me too. She wants my soul as well, Sakura thinks she's going crazy, and there's a chance you all could get dragged down to hell. You're not the only ones with the problems."

_"But we're the cause of them,"_ Deidara whispered, and Sasori's eyes shot back up to the blonde's clouded face.

"What was that, Dei?"

_"It's our fault you could die, un. It's our fault that Sakura thinks she's going nuts, and Ino is scared for her. It's our fault that Ariana is here, un."_ The blonde's eyes were shining with tears. _"We should just leave. We should give up any idea of coming back, un."_

Sasori and the two other spirits stared at the blonde. Deidara wiped at his eyes and sniffed. _"I want to come back, but not if it's going to cost me everything I love, un."_

Silence for a moment.

"I'm not going to die, Dei," Sasori said gently.

_"It's alright, Deidara. I can protect myself; Tsukiyomi is rather useful now that I can use it."_

"I don't plan on--"

Hidan's voice was cut off midway through his sentence, and the blonde and weasel were by their friend in a heartbeat.

Lavender eyes glazed, skin paling.

"He's seeing again..." Sasori whispered, taking a step towards the spirits.

Slowly, Hidan began to speak in the haunting, echoing voice. _"Only one of the living knows the naga. She will target him before the others. Beware of her, and protect him."_

Itachi twisted his neck to look, wide eyed, at Sasori. _"Kakuzu or Kisame? Which one is he talking about?"_

Sasori shrugged and frowned. "I dunno. But we're going to save us all, don't worry."

Deidara's frown only grew deeper as Sasori and Itachi began debating who Ariana would go after first.

* * *

Kakuzu sneezed and grabbed at his tissues.

"I get the feeling someone's talking about me," he muttered, wiping his nose.

* * *

**Author's Comments:** I think you all know the sneezing legend, so I'm not explaining it.

Thank you all and good night, XD


	22. Chapter 22

_"It's that one. He knows her." The voice was cold, high pitched. Obviously female, but power reeked in it, sickly sweet and strong._

"Are you sure?" Hesitation in the male's voice as it echoed through the darkness.

"Am I ever wrong?"

A sigh. "No, my lady. I trust you are correct."

"Then why do you question me?" the female's voice snapped.

A pause. "My lady...why do we need these souls? Doesn't our lord have enough as it is? What makes these so special?"

Silence. Then, cold laughter. "Beelzebub, you senile old fool. These are joined souls. They have roots to earth. They died the worst deaths that someone in their society could, and powers are born from those death."

"I—I know that, lady....but why does Satan want them so much?" the voice was cracked and broken by haste to respond.

Cackling laughter echoed through the old demon's head. "Why? Why? Why indeed. Power is derived from power, hate from hate, fire from sparks. Things we feed on."

The demon said nothing, waiting for the woman to continue.

"These souls offer an opportunity. I have been promised one; the soul of the suicide bombing victim. The heathen, the one killed by his own partners....Satan will have his power. And you....dear old Beelzebub..."

"Satan is offering me a soul?" Surprise was clear.

"Eating more than one joined soul can destroy you. Surely you should know this, demon sempai_." The words were laced with sword sharp sarcasm._

"You can have the soul of the black eyed Uchiha. How long has it been since you had one?"

"Forever, my lady."

Another sharp laugh. "I'm leaving. Tell our lord he will have the souls as soon as I dispose of their anchors."

"Yes, lady Aria."  


* * *

The woman paused on the roof tops, brushing silver hair from her face as her eyes scanned the city buildings.

The moon shone down steadily upon her, throwing her angelic features into sharp relief. Azure eyes narrowed as red twisted out from the pupils, changing them from blue, to lavender, then to blood, lust and fire.

Pale skin looked like ice infused with marble as the woman raised one arm, studying the twisting and writhing black mark on her forearm.

"Hush, little one..." she crooned. "Blood is coming, my sweet...." Thin fingers traced the mark softly.

"Kakuzu Frazier, I am coming for you..."

Sharp fangs flashed in the moonlight, and then she was gone.  


* * *

_"We have to get Sasori to Kakuzu, now!" The albino yelled, flying as fast as he could towards the red head's house._

"Wait up, Hidan!"

"Hidan, go find Kakuzu, un! We'll get danna!"

"HIDAAAAAN!"

* * *

**Author's Comments:** Um....yeah....took a stupid amount of time to write this....


	23. Chapter 23

Sasori was cooking. Or at least, he was trying to cook. Sakura was still a little.....scared from her encounter with the ghosts, and Ino, who had become remarkably better, had taken her to Hinata's house for some relaxation, as the blonde thought that Sakura was broken up about some crush.

"Let's see....." Sasori mumbled, tracing his finger down the cookbook's page. "Add salt and pepper to taste...." he paused, looking back at his steak. "How can I add it to taste when I don't know what it tastes like?"

Sasori stared at the book, then his steak, then the book again. Finally, he just groaned, and slammed his head to the counter. "I knew I should have gone with take out....."

After a moment, the red head straightened back up, rubbing at his eyes as he looked around the unusually empty kitchen. The only noise he could hear was the soft ticking of the clock Sakura had gotten from a garage sale.

The red plastic edging of the clock was cracked and broken, much to Sasori's annoyance. He had offered any times to fix it, but Sakura would never let him. "I wonder where Dei went," he whispered, pushing his hair from his eyes. "They had to check on Kisame and Kakuzu.....said they'd be back soon...."

He glanced at the clock again. "They've been so...edgy since Aria came....." he paused. "Well....duh, she does want to kill us...."

The room was silent again for another few minutes. "I wonder what they're up to...."

_"SASORI, GET YOUR FUCKING ASS OVER TO KAKUZU'S HOUSE, NOW!"_ Hidan's head suddenly popped out of the wall in front of the red head, causing Sasori to shriek and fall backwards, hitting his head on the wall behind him.

"Hidan, what the hell? Ow.....that really hurt....." Sasori rubbed his head angrily, glaring at the albino. Hidan's face was flushed, eyes wide and hair mussed.

_"You HAVE to get over to Kakuzu's now, Sasori,"_ the Jashinist repeated urgently. _"Deidara and Itachi already went on ahead, but we can't do anything to stop it."_

Sasori frowned as he pushed himself back up to his feet. "Hidan, slow down. What do you need me for?"

Hidan's eyes were dead as he spoke. _"Aria's going after Kakuzu. I don't know why she picked him first. I don't know why this is going on."_ A raspy sob escaped the albino's throat, and he scrubbed at his eyes with one arm.

Sasori didn't speak yet.

_"Kakuzu was the only one who cared for me when I was alive,"_ the albino whispered. _"If he dies...."_

Sasori chuckled softly as he headed to the door, not letting Hidan continue. "Hidan, stop crying, it's kinda disturbing to see you like that." He paused in the doorway. "And I'll help with Kakuzu....I know what he means to you, I won't let him die before you can tell him."

With that, Sasori exited, leaving a blushing Hidan to gape at his back before sailing after the red head and out of the house.

* * *

Kakuzu didn't want to sleep. His mom wasn't here, as usual. Something about meeting an old high school friend that she hadn't seen in twelve years.

Kakuzu suspected that she just wanted out of the house. Hidan's favorite holiday was coming up, one where the Jashinists would pray for the souls of those that had died within the last year all night, then end with a huge party. Kakuzu had always gone with Hidan along on these all night prayers, although he disbelieved in God, and had enjoyed it, surprisingly.

Hidan wasn't there to do it this year.

Kakuzu stared out of the window at the blinding streetlights. The glass fogged where his breath hit it, the smooth planes cool to the touch. Winter was almost here.

Kakuzu sighed, and made as to push himself away from the window, when a flash of movement caught his eye.

A flash of silver in the moonlight, red that seemed to glow, and a breeze from the suddenly open window as Kakuzu found himself staring into bloody red eyes and a wide grin, fangs sharp and obvious, shining pure under the light that fell into the miser's room.

"Hello, live one."

* * *

**Author's Comments:** Quality is probably very low because I'm still sick.


	24. Chapter 24

Fear has a scent. It burns when it hits you, and rips you apart, almost from the inside as it steals through your senses.

The eyes narrowed as the grin grew wider, and Kakuzu leaned back, eyes widening as the smell of fear, of death overwhelmed him.

She was perched on the window frame, in a crouching position, silver hair danging down her back. She didn't move as Kakuzu slowly stood up on shaky legs and backed away, eyes locked on the creature in front of him.

She reeked of hate, of lust, of power, of misery, of death, things Kakuzu didn't even know carried smells. The stench was overpowering, causing Kakuzu's head to reel as he stumbled backwards.

Her fangs flashed. "Now tell me, live one. You know the soul caller, correct?"

Even through his fear, Kakuzu felt confusion. "The soul caller?" His voice was cracked.

She laughed, a tinkling sound as she examined her nails. "Yes, the soul caller. He steals from me....it's very bad for my line of work." Her lip jutted forward in a pout.

"I don't know any soul caller."

She frowned at him, stretching one leg in front of her. Her skin was paler than snow in the dim lighting. "The soul caller. You're going to ask him for your friend, right?"

Kakuzu shook his head slowly, somehow knowing who she was referring to. "Hidan's dead. He's been dead for nearly six months now."

The woman sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Damn....I guess I was wrong then...." A bitter smile creased her face. "Beelzebub will never let me hear the end of this one."

Her red eyes flashed back up to look at the miser. "But....My mark is hungry for blood. Surely you don't mind giving me some of yours?"

Kakuzu pressed himself flat up against the wall as he shook his head. What the hell was the matter with this woman?

Her lips pursed irritably. "Wait....you are the Jashinist's anchor.....so I guess I _do_ have to kill you, after all."

Kakuzu was out of the door in a flash, dashing down the stairs as cold laughter followed him down.

* * *

When Kakuzu burst out the front door into the street, he wasn't sure what he was expecting to see there.

What he was certainly NOT expecting to see was an out of breath Sasori, face flushed as he stared at the windows. "Where is she?" the red head demanded the second he saw the miser. "What the hell have you told her? Where the naga is, where Hidan was buried, what have you told her?!" His voice rose as he spoke, becoming unnaturally shrill.

"What can I fucking TELL her if I don't know what in the name of Jashin is even going on?!" Kakuzu screamed back.

_"Don't use Jashin's name like that, Kuzu....I thought you would know better by now, bastard...."_

Kakuzu felt something in his chest tighten, even through his fear.

Hidan's voice. Hidan.

"Sasori, what is---"

The side of Kakuzu's house blew out, and suddenly Kakuzu was very glad that he lived a quarter mile from his nearest neighbor.

Aria held a plank of wood in one hand, one long nail scratching designs into it. "A friend. He's the one with powers," she commented dryly as she saw Sasori. Then her eyes widened, and she chuckled. "And he brought the joined ones! Lovely."

Sasori pushed Kakuzu out of the way, raising his hand as he glared at the woman. "Hidan! Possess Kakuzu now! I can't enhance it, you have to do it!"

Hidan.

_"FINE, Sasori...."_

Again, the voice seemed so close, but Kakuzu had no time to look for the speaker before something with the force of a speeding truck rammed into him, and all went black.

* * *

**Author's Comments:** ...I'll go work on the contest prizes now....


	25. Chapter 25

_"So....you need my fucking help, huh." The voice echoed around in the dark, and Kakuzu was searching for the speaker._

It had to be Hidan talking to him.

"Stupid Kuzu...."

"Hidan..." the miser breathed. Then repeated it, louder. "HIDAN!"

"What? I'm right....oh...." Hidan voice faded for a second. "You can't see me yet....I have to force second sight into you."

"Hidan, tell me what's going on. Please, Hidan."

Hidan, or at least his voice, was silent for a moment.

"Aria is after our souls," he said finally. "You someone know someone called Orochimaru, but that's not the only reason she's after you."

Another long silence.

"Apparently, Itachi, Deidara and I are "joined souls". We can't move on, because we weren't suppose to die. And we....have powers, so it appeals to demons. Deidara can blow up anything, Itachi can snap someone's mind, and me...."

His voice faded again.

"What about you, Hidan?" Kakuzu asked softly. "What can you do?"

"I can predict the future. Sasori has powers, too. His mainly focus on controlling things, and enhancing second sight."

Kakuzu sighed. "Why is it all dark, Hidan?"

"We're trapped in your mind. Sasori is fighting Aria, but he's not doing well. I certainly hope you have a power, dumbass, or you're seriously dead."

Kakuzu felt confused again. "We're in my head?"

"Technically, yes. But we can't stay here long. I'm forcing some chakra into you....can you see me yet?"

Kakuzu twisted around, looking for something, anything. Finally....a glowing blue blur.

"Hidan?"

"Yeah, it's me. You can't see me clearly yet....." The voice died as Kakuzu felt power surge briefly through him, and the blur became redefined, forming limbs.

Kakuzu couldn't find words as he saw Hidan, Hidan_, grinning his trademark smile at him once more._

"Kuzu? You don't have a power, and I'll kill you," the albino said, smiling before it dropped suddenly. "Sasori and Itachi are hurt. We have to hurry."

Kakuzu was about to ask what he meant when the darkness faded, and the world returned to light.

* * *

**Author's Comments:** Action comes next chappie, I swear.


	26. Chapter 26

Sasori whirled around behind the lamp post, using it as a shield as Aria lunged at him, her fist sinking deep into the tree that Sasori had been standing in front of moments before. Wood splintered, flying out, and Deidara yelped as a piece of it sailed right through his stomach.

It was heading for where Kakuzu was lying, so Sasori quickly sent a thread out to catch it, then flicked his thread, hurling it at Aria. She dodged with almost too much ease, laughing as the wood sank into the side of Kakuzu's house.

_"Danna, look out, un!"_ Deidara yelled, and Sasori jumped out of the way as Kakuzu's trash can exploded, trash flying everywhere.

Sasori tried to attach his strings as Aria screeched and tried to pry a moldy banana from her hair, the lines glowing vivid blue in the darkness as they shot towards her.

Aria growled as she jumped up, out of the strings' path, and they followed her, twisting and stretching as they reached for her body.

_"Sasori, Kakuzu's coming to, Hidan's out!"_ Itachi called, trying to catch Aria's eye as the red head hissed in frustration, urging the threads to move faster.

"What can two mortal boys and three souls do to a immortal?" Aria taunted, twisting into a neat flip to avoid the strings. Her hair trailed slowly behind her, shining like a moonbeam in the dark. "What are going to do to me?"

Sasori ground his teeth together. "Kakuzu! Hurry up!" he yelled over his shoulder as he saw the miser slowly sit up.

"I can see him," Kakuzu whispered, watching Hidan flying over to help Deidara, pointing out objects for the blonde to blow up.

"Kakuzu!"

That got the miser's attention. "What the hell am I even suppose to be doing?!"

"ANYTHING, SO LONG AS IT WORKS!"

Kakuzu rolled his eyes as Aria landed on a branch of a tree, then used it to leap forward, wrapping her hands around Sasori's neck and sending him tumbling to the ground.

Kakuzu was never sure what really happened next.

His arms shot out, from the elbow downwards, and shoved Aria away. Kakuzu gaped at his arms. They were _disconnected_. They...weren't attached to his body anymore.

The only link they seemed to have was dark threads, more like rope, connecting them.

Kakuzu stared at them for a second, before they reacted o n their own and went after Aria again, grabbing her ankles and sending her sprawling.

Sasori jumped to his feet, not even looking at Kakuzu's arms, sending out his own threads to tie Aria to a nearby tree.

Deidara whooped excitedly, and Hidan smiled tiredly as he floated over to Kakuzu.

"What do you think you can do with this?" Aria hissed, struggling against her bonds. 'What do you think you can do to me?"

Sasori was about to speak, when Aria's grin widened. "You can't catch me," she whispered as her back twisted and cavorted, skin pulsing. "I am hell's angel."

Dark wings bust from her spine, snapping the cords as she shot upwards. "I can't get you now....but you two aren't the only anchors."

Itachi gasped. _"She doesn't...."_

"I assure you I do, little soul. See you later!" She called, shooting up into the black sky.

Sasori groaned as he got to his feet. "Great. Now we've got to save Kisame."

* * *

**Author's Comments:** WHILE WRITING THIS:

Me: *stares at whole story* That's not right....*Deletes half of it, rewrites it* Hm....that's not much better....*repeats* Still not any better....oh what the hell *posts*


	27. Chapter 27

_"A new one has joined the ranks, Beelzebub," the voice echoed around the cold chamber, and the old demon resisted the urge to shudder._

The lord of Hell's voice was not icy like lady Aria's. It was undeniably warm, and soft. It was the kind of voice a kind kindergartener teacher would have, or maybe a Liberian. Underlying that, peel away the warm layers…and there was hatred, pain, fire.

"My lord….which one is it?" Beelzebub's voice was cracked. Satan may as well lose his temper, and all souls would curse their lives as he released his fury upon them.

"The Frazier. My Aria had been fighting Akasuna, when the heathen slipped inside and awakened the powers."

The voice was growling, although still warm and soothing, but Beelzebub was trying not to run.

"My…Lord…may I ask a question?" He said hesitantly.

"Speak."

The old demon gulped before speaking. "Which power does the boy have, my lord?"

Silence for a moment. Beelzebub couldn't make out the form, sitting on the dark and warped throne, but he knew that Satan's face was twisted.

"Sir?"

"Threads. He can control threads, and disconnect his limbs." A pause. '"This makes his soul, and the Akasuna's, both very valuable, Beelzebub."

Beelzebub resisted the urge to tap his foot in annoyance as Satan paused again.

"Beelzebub…I want you to call Aria."

The old demon sighed. "About what, my lord? Inter-dimension phones are not to be used except in emergency."

"Do not speak to me about laws I have set down, Beelzebub, unless you would like to join the spit turner who burned my dinner in my hounds' breakfast."

Beelzebub gulped and nodded.

"I want you to call her. Tell her to go and kill Hoshigaki before he is awaken as well. The fives souls with powers are strong on their own, but add the sixth and Aria will stand no chance."

Another long silence. Satan was not known for being talkative, but Beelzebub found this annoying.

"She has permission to kill the living ones, Beelzebub. Tell her that."

As the demon turned to go, the demon king stopped him once again. "Also…tell her I am sending the hounds."  


* * *

Aria was almost to the shark's apartment when her cell phone went off. Irritably, she pulled to a stop, wings beating the air as she fished it out of her skirt's pocket, miles over the city.

"Make it quick, Beelze, I'm in a hurry," she snapped the second it was pressed to her ear.

"Satan says Plan Red, Aria. Also…." The old demon paused.

"Yes?"

"He's sending the hounds. The sixth soul cannot wake, Aria," Beelzebub warned.

"And I will make sure it does not." She smiled tightly. "Plan Red, you say?"

"Don't kill the dammed, Aria. We need them to wreck their havoc."

Aria laughed, flipping her silver hair over her shoulder as her eyes gleamed in the moonlight. "Sure. Send out Fuurya and Killina."

"Yes ma'am."

"Now don't call again, I have people to kill."

With that, her phone was snapped shut and stored away in her pocket, her flight over the city resuming.

* * *

Iruka looked puzzled at the pictures displayed on the camera shoved under his nose. "Kakashi…what are these?"

The white haired man grinned as he pulled his camera close to him again. "Simple. Proof to show Gai up."

The teacher sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter, wearily closing his eyes. "What is your newest bet about?"

"Whether God exists or not."

"HEY!"

Kakashi grinned before pulling Iruka closer to hi. "'Course, I have my own angel here," he purred, making Iruka blush.

* * *

**Author's Comments:** I hate working on Macs. I miss my Dell, and this turned out awful, and I feel terrible for making you all wait, and then I come out with a bunch of dialogue.

But hey, Maui's great, getting my writing brain to think.

...would anyone want to read a story where Hidan is a hula dancer?


	28. Chapter 28

"Itachi, we need you to go ahead," Sasori said sharply as he and Kakuzu dashed through the darkening streets. He could hear the soft murmur of Hidan telling Kakuzu the whole tale from the beginning, from their deaths, to Deidara possessing Sasori, finding out Hell was after them, to now. Running from Satan's own lover.

_"Why?"_ the weasel asked, slowing his glide so he raced along next to Sasori.

"Sasuke may be there. He can't be involved in this. Just get him out somehow, okay?" Sasori gasped out as he rounded a corner.

_"I'll go with you, Itachi, un,"_ Deidara chimed in.

Itachi paused before nodding slowly. _"I suppose it will be bad if my dear baby brother does get hurt,"_ he murmured.

"Don't possess him, just get him out somehow. Have Dei set off a bomb or...or something, I don't know."

_"That won't be necessary,"_ Itachi cut in. _"Sasuke has a weak second sight. He can vaguely see and hear spirits."_

Sasori wasn't sure how to respond. "Well....that's good...."

_"Let's go, Deidara,"_ Itachi interrupted, and the brunette and blonde speed up and to the darkened sky.

Sasori watched them go. "Please be safe, Dei," he whispered to the stars, then yelled," Kakuzu! Let's go!"

* * *

Sasuke rubbed his eyes wearily as he sat at the kitchen table. The steam from his ramen blow tickled his nose, and he sneezed as he picked up his spoon.

He glanced over at the couch. The dining room and living room were essentially the same in Kisame's apartment, and the couch was set against the far wall, under the window. Kisame was asleep on it, one arm draped across his face, breathing quiet.

Sasuke turned back to his ramen, raising his spoon to take another bite, but froze when a small piece of naruto, the fish cake, rose to the surface.

He stared at it for a moment, then shoved the bowl away. Sasuke buried his head in his arms, closing his eyes.

"This is so stupid," he muttered. "My brother is dead, I'm living with nii-san's best friend who I _know_ he had a crush on, and I'm in love with my best friend myself. What else can go wrong with my life?"

_"You were in LOVE with KISAME, Itachi, un?"_ a voice said behind him. Sasuke froze, body tensing.

_"I was not!"_ Itachi....no....couldn't be...._"Sasuke's just....look, I have no idea where he came up with it."_

Sasuke turned slowly, looking over his shoulder as his dark eyes widened.

Standing behind him were the outlines of two....ghosts was what they seemed to be. One with long blonde hair and the bluest eyes Sasuke had ever seen, even bluer than Naruto's. He was standing at an angle, arguing with....Sasuke's eyes widened even more, if possible.

_"Yeah, but you always talk about him, un! And you seem sad that he's the only one who can't see us yet,"_ the blonde one continued, crossing his arms over his chest and grinning smugly.

Itachi flushed. _"Well then, I suppose it's safe to say you have a crush on Sasori?"_ he shot back. Sasuke's mouth was open.

"Nii....san...." he whispered, but the two ghosts took no notice. The blonde was blushing. Sasuke remember the kid. Deidara Iwa, Ino's older brother. He had died in a bombing over six months ago.

_"I...I...uh...."_

Itachi smirked. _"You do. And now, since it seems we have gotten his attention....Sasuke."_

Sasuke jumped backwards, hipbone slamming into the table. Pain flashed through him, and he bit it back. "Nii...san?"

_"Sasuke, something is coming for Kisame. Get out of here. Go to Naruto's, or Kiba's, just get out. Wake Kisame up before you,"_ Itachi cut in urgently.

"Nii san....what's...what is this about?" Sasuke finally asked.

Itachi smiled sadly. _"Life. Now get out."_

Sasuke slowly nodded, then pushed his chair back, dashing to Kisame and shaking him.

Kisame snorted. "Wha-"

"It's me," Sasuke said quietly. "Naruto called....I'm going to his house....And wake up, Kisame!"

Kisame sighed as he pushed himself up on his elbows. "Fine....go one....see ya later...." he mumbled, waving at the door.

Sasuke smiled weakly before getting up and pulling open the door, disappearing down the hallways.

Kisame sighed and ran a hand through his thick hair. "Kids....leaving at all hours at the night, getting into trouble...."

_"A lot like you used to, Kisame...."_ someone whispered in his ear.

Kisame froze. "Who....said that?"

_"Get out of here, Kisame....before it's too late...."_

* * *

**Author's Comments:** Sleepy....


	29. Chapter 29

_"He can hear you, you know, un," _another voice chided. _"You have to hurry. Danna and Kakuzu are almost here, un."_

_"Shut up, Dei. You're quite annoying, you know that?"_ the first voice hissed.

"Who's there?" Kisame repeated, looking around. "Seriously. Where are you?"

_"Sitting right besides you, un,"_ the second called gleefully.

"But...no one is here...." Kisame trailed off as his eyes widened with understanding. "You're dead, both of you. Who am I talking to? Some crazy bride that drowned herself? A suicidal schoolgirl?"

_"What the HELL?! You think I sound like a girl, un?!"_

_"Now that wasn't nice, Kisame. Don't remember me?" _ the first voice whispered in his ear as the other....thing kept ranting.

Kisame frowned as he rubbed his chin. The voice sighed. _"Stupid shark, go find some fish to munch on....that sound familiar?"_

Kisame's eyes widened. "But you're dead," he whispered. "I saw your body buried.....how?"

_"Don't think about that right now. Kakuzu and Sasori are almost here. Now get your lazy ass out of here. Pretend you chasing fish or something."_

"I'm not a shark, dammit!" Kisame hissed as he stood, grabbing a nearby sweatshirt and throwing it on.

_"You're smiling. Ruins the effect, Kisame," _ Itachi giggled.

_"Wait, un . Kakuzu and danna are here,"_ the other voice cut in.

_"Where?"_ Itachi asked, and Kisame noticed his voice sounded strained.

_"I do believe they're running up the side of the building, so it may be wise to open the window before they get here, un."_

Kisame was feeling completely lost now. Sasori and Kakuzu were running up the side of a sheer wall to get to his apartment. He was talking to dead people. Sasuke had disappeared to a friend's house.

"What's going on?" he asked weakly, feeling his head spin. More than anything, the shark wanted to go to bed, get a good night's sleep, and wake up to find this all a dream.

_"Don't ask. Just open the window, dammit."_

Sighing, Kisame obeyed the weasel's instructions, unlocking the glass and sliding it upwards. On impulse, he leaned slightly out and looked down, feeling dizzy from the height.

Two figures were dashing up the brick wall, less then three stories above the shark's floor. A blue glow surrounded the smaller one's hands, while the larger one was using what seemed to be threads to anchor himself to the building.

_"Step back, Kisame."_

Dazed, Kisame stepped backwards until he was leaning against the kitchen counter, watching as Sasori Akasuna and Kakuzu Frazier burst through his window, landing heavily on the wooden floor.

"Dammit, Kakuzu, it took forever to get here!" the red head swore as he brushed out his coat and jeans, hands still an eerie blue.

"Well, excuse me for not knowing how to run up the side of a building until two hours ago!" the miser snapped. "Jesus, Hidan, you could have explained it better."

_"Jashin, dammit! Jashin, not Jesus! And I fucking didn't know HOW to do it! I'm dead, I can't touch solid objects, remember?"_ another voice, the owner unseen.

Kisame leaned back and slide down the wall, eyes wide as he watched the two teens in front of him argue.

"Are you going to zap him or what?" Kakuzu asked, gesturing at the shark. "Because Hidan says Aria is almost here."

"I know that, dammit!"

Kakuzu rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "So what the fuck are you waiting for?!"

"Whatever. Fine," Sasori rolled back his sleeves as he approached the shark, hands glowing brighter as he kneeled.

"What are you going to do?" Kisame asked, watching the red head's hands apprehensively.

"Doesn't matter. Move, and I'll bite you. Hard," Sasori threatened as he moved his hands to either sides of the shark's head.

Kisame held stock still, barely breathing as Sasori drew in a deep breath, eyes shutting momentarily. Then the blue glow was covering his eyes, and all was bright.

* * *

Aria swooped down, searching the busy streets, frowning as she bit her lip, sweeping between buildings and streetlights. "It's around here..." she murmured. "The living will find him before I do....this would be so much easier if Beelzebub would hurry the fuck up and send out the hounds...."

Almost on cue, a low howl, accompanied with a hiss of a farce fire, sounded, close to Aria's left. She twisted her head, silver hair draping over one shoulder as she eyed the form coming towards her at inhumane speeds.

She stretched out a hand, and the thing whined, leaning into her palm. "Good....good girl, Killina....it's almost dinner time...." she crooned, stroking the thing gently, eyes almost soft as the thing panted, slobbering on her hand.

Her eyes flashed as the creature barked and sored away, and she was following it across town, grinning widely as another joined them, followed by a third.

"Your time has come, living...."

The hounds howled, harsh song ripping from their throats as they raced across the starry sky.

* * *

Sasori's eyes shot open, and he glanced at Kakuzu, looking panicked. The miser frowned, and waved Hidan aside as he crossed the room to sit besides Sasori.

'She's coming," the red head said shortly, still forcing his power into Kisame. Kisame himself was dazed, watching the two teens vacently with half lidded eyes. "But she has something. Or somethings. I'm not sure."

"Some minion, maybe....?" Kakuzu murmured, tapping his chin. "She's Satan's girl, isn't she? It's probably something that Satan himself uses often."

_"You're not helping the situation, un,"_ Deidara chided. _"It doesn't matter who's thing they are, so long as we know what they are."_

_"Agreed,"_ Hidan muttered.

"Kisame isn't done," Sasori explained, gesturing with his head towards the shark. "I need more time. Distract her. Deidara, go with Kakuzu and Hidan. Itachi, stay here."

Kakuzu nodded as he stood, cracking his knuckles. "I can't promise much, Sasori," the miser began. "Maybe five minutes. That enough?"

Sasori frowned, pursing his lips as he thought. In all honesty, he wasn't sure how much longer it would take to awaken Kisame. But if five minutes was all he had, it was what he would use. "It'll do," he decided. "Now move it!"

Kakuzu and the two spirits were gone before he could blink, leaving him with an empty room, a ghost, and the almost silent ticking of the clock, counting down the hours to midnight.

* * *

**Author's Comments:** Really short, really crappy part that did not want to get written. I'm sorry.


	30. Chapter 30

"You see her?" Kakuzu called as Hidan completed another lap around the building, silver hair swaying behind him as he floated along. At the sound of Kakuzu's voice, the albino twisted his neck to stare at his best friend, eyes worried. Kakuzu was anchored onto the building by his threads, twisting and winding them around windowsills and poles.

_"No....this is stupid, Kuzu."_

Kakuzu rolled his eyes. "I didn't ask you to explain your thoughts on how we could go about doing this "the right way". I just asked if you saw the dammed bitch or not."

_"I said I didn't, dammit! What the fuck, are you deaf or something?! Maybe if you cleaned all the shit out from your ears, you would have heard me, bastard!"_ Hidan yelled, swooping closer.

The miser forced himself not to smile. This was so much like when Hidan had been alive. Arguments would start over the smallest things, and they would spend hours debating their points. Usually ended with punching, but Kakuzu had missed it, so much. "Dammit albino freak, if anyone has hearing issues it's you!"

_"What the fuck was that?! Ya wanna die, son of a bitch?!"_

"I'll kill you first, asshole!"

Hidan grinned. _"Uh...kinda already dead, dumbass."_

Deidara, floating just over their heads, sighed loudly, getting the other two's attention.

_"Ya need something, bitch?"_ Hidan asked, gliding up to be in front of his friend. Kakuzu craned hos neck to stare at the two spirits.

_"You know perfectly well I am a GUY, un. And I was just wondering...do you two always fight like a married couple?"_ Deidara asked innocently.

Hidan stared at him for a moment, then suddenly turned so red, it rivaled Rudolph's famous nose. Kakuzu swore he was almost glowing. Hidan the glowing teen....sounded much better, and more believable, then a flying reindeer with a lightbulb for a nose.

_"Blondie....what...the...fuck..."_ Hidan sounded strangled.

Deidara blinked, then smiled innocently at his friend. _"Well, you two sound like a old married couple that can't agree on anything, un. I just had to comment on that..."_

Hidan scowled at him, and was about to open his mouth when Deidara's eyes widened. _"Holy shit, un._

Spinning around, Hidan saw what Deidara was talking about. Flying in between the tall skyscrapers was...something.

As far as Hidan knew, black was not a very bright color. Light didn't shine though it well, so it couldn't explain what he was seeing.

He didn't know how, but balls of black and blue fire were soaring towards the building. As Hidan watched, the flames shifted from a wild, crazy dance to what looked like animals.

_Dogs..._ he realized as one beast opened a huge mouth, revealing fangs made from burning embers.

"Dang ugliest dog I ever saw..." Kakuzu muttered, watching the things warily.

_"Same here, un."_

The dogs began to circle the building, hissing. It confused Hidan for a moment. Dogs didn't hiss. Cats hissed.

But then he remembered that fire would hiss when it caught another log, so it wasn't that weird.

Aria swooped down as the beasts closed in, so close that the three could see their blank white eyes.

She smiled at them, showing her fangs. "Nice doggies, aren't they? The best in hell. Hand fed the best flames and stone."

"Flattered you brought them," Kakuzu said coolly, shifting his weight. "Far too kind of you, Ms. H. Really."

"Oh please, call me Aria," the woman smiled. It didn't reach her eyes. "I always liked getting to know those I killed."

_"We won't die tonight, un.'_

She gave the blonde an amused look. "You can't die, moron. He'll die"-she pointed at Kakuzu-"And so will your other mortal friends. You and the other two...we'll use your souls."

Kakuzu snarled. "I'll die before you touch any of these spirits!"

Half lidded eyes turned on the glowing green. "That a promise?"

Kakuzu paused, then nodded, glaring at the woman.

She smiled again, eyes alight with something. "Well....hate to have you break a promise..."

Hidan realized what she was going to do before the other two did. _"Kakuzu, get out of the way, dammit!"_

Aria snapped her fingers as Hidan lunged for Kakuzu. One of the dogs' form shivered before disappearing.

Next time they saw it, it was holding a limp Kakuzu in it's mouth, blood dripping down from his scalp. Threads tried to wind around the creatures neck, before shuddering and falling loosely around the miser as his eyes drooped shut.

Hidan stared, body freezing up at the sight of his friend's blood. His whole body grew cold as his friend's eyes shut slowly.

No, no, no, no...too much like that thing....that thing he had seen in Itachi's dream world...too much like what he had seen....

It was too real.

_"KAKUZU!"_

* * *

**Author's Comments:** Holy shit, what have I DONE?!

I am so dead....


	31. Chapter 31

When Deidara was a little kid, before his parents had died and left him with Ino and the house, he was told Hell did not exist. Hell was what the "good people" in the world wanted to believe that their enemies were being sent to, said his mother.

So Deidara had had little belief in both Heaven and Hell for much of his life. Until he died, that is. But he was now certain there was something, it just might not be Hell, as in fire and brimstone and eternal torture among the flames.

Meh. They were wrong, his parents. Of course they were, they hadn't died in an explosion and given a chance to come back. They weren't being chased by Hell itself.

Hell was on Earth now, in the form of a beautiful woman, fiery demon-dogs, and the the still, bleeding form of Kakuzu skewered on those fearsome teeth.

Hidan looked completely stunned, eyes wider than Deidara could ever remembering seeing them, face pale. His hands were clenched tightly as his eyes watered, taking a slow step towards his friend as the hell dog gripped the miser's body tighter.

Aria smiled sweetly as the dog padded over to her, and she touched the end of it's flaming nose gently, taking her hand back after a moment. Her fingers shone red under the moon, and she licked at Kakuzu's blood with a trilling laugh. "Why are you so shocked? Some of us are doomed to have everyone we love die. Why should you, the one who was killed by his parents, be any different? You're a toy that will be thrown away eventually."

Hidan's head drooped, bangs falling free from his gel and dangling in front of his face. Aria giggled again. "Did I touch a nerve?"

Kakuzu coughed weakly, one hand pushing limply against the beasts mouth, and Hidan let out a sudden scream of rage as he hurled himself at Aria.

This, Deidara concluded, was Hell on Earth, and nothing was going to change it.  


* * *

Kisame's head felt really fuzzy, and the outlines of things were blurring together as he squinted, trying to make sense of where he was. Sasori sat a few feet away from him, and Itachi floated just above the red head, chewing on the end of his ponytail as he studied Kisame.

That was when Kisame concluded he had lost it.

It didn't matter he had heard Itachi speak to him earlier. Itachi was dead. Died from a disease, buried in the cemetery, had a freakin' tombstone stating his name and age, a grave Kisame could walk to backwards and blindfolded.

Itachi was dead. Kisame knew he wasn't the sanest person alive, but still...he didn't suspect his brain could come up with something like this. Itachi was dead, there was no way he was here....

Which was why Itachi, and Sasori Akasuna, who he barely knew, were both giving him this creepy owl gaze like they knew everything in the universe and were going to hold it over the shark's head, just to see what he would do.

If this all was some whacked out dream, thanks to Sasuke pouring vodka in the milk, not for the first time either, Kisame was going to get down on his hands and knees and thank God. He didn't need this kind of thing, this heartbreak all over. He didn't even want to think for a moment that he may, just may, be able to see Itachi again.

"It's not a dream, before you ask," Sasori said quietly, noticing the shark staring at him. The red head stood, brushing out his clothing. Itachi merely gave him one of the many looks he had in his vast collection, the yes-this-is-the-truth look.

"But..." Kisame whispered as objects began to focus more, "I don't get it." There were no such things as ghosts...Itachi was in Heaven, not here...but he could feel cool air washing over him from the open window, his sore muscles....maybe it was real.

Sasori shrugged. "Me either. Now, I have to go help out Kakuzu. Itachi will explain everything." With that, the red head was clambering out the window, and Kisame could faintly hear shouts and cries coming from it.

Kisame stared at the window for a moment, mouth open. _"...Hey, fish-brain,"_ the weasel mumbled, forcing the shark to look at him. Itachi was staring at the ground, bangs dangling in his face. _"You're confused, aren't you."_

The shark nodded slowly, and Itachi raised his head, brushing his hair back with one hand. _"Essentially, this is the whole heaven-and-hell want my soul kind of thing,"_ he began. _"Deidara, Hidan and I all died, same day. We didn't go anywhere, we were just floating around and we found each other. And since we didn't seem to be going anywhere, we figured that maybe, just maybe, we could return to life."_

The Uchiha paused, looking at Kisame expectantly. _"Are you following me, Kisame?"_

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Kisame whispered, reaching one hand towards his friend, trying to stroke his cheek. His hand merely passed through the pale skin, pausing with it hanging in the middle of the weasel's chest. "I can see you now, I could hear you before...why didn't you say something?" Kisame's eyes were narrowed to slits as Itachi watched him with a blank expression. "Do you even know what kind of hell Sasuke and I have been going through since you died, bastard? Sasuke doesn't speak much any more, not even to Naruto."

Itachi didn't say anything as Kisame's hand clenched, still inside of his chest. "I really hate you," Kisame growled, and Itachi nodded slowly.

_"I know."_

"You died and left Sasuke alone, with me."

_"I know."_

The two teens glared at each other for a moment, listening to the screams coming from outside, along with the sound of something blowing up.

"I'm never going to forgive you," Kisame said finally, letting his hand drop.

_"Mm. I guessed as much,"_ the weasel muttered, running a hand through his dark bangs, still looking at the ground.

"But that doesn't mean I'm not going to help you," Kisame continued, getting to his feet stiffly and cracking his neck. Itachi's head jerked up, surprise dancing through his eyes, and Kisame was uncomfortably aware they weren't the endless black eyes he was used to, but a bloody crimson.

_"If you die, or Kakuzu, or Sasori, we'll die too,"_ the weasel said quietly, allowing himself to float upwards enough to extend his legs. _"And you don't know what you can do yet, Kisame."_

Kisame shrugged as he headed for the window. "Eh. I guess I'll find out then." And with that, he took the last few steps in a run and jumped out into the empty air.

* * *

**Author's Comments:** XD Kisa-chan jumped out a window!


	32. Chapter 32

Water is a strangely powerful thing.

In small amounts, it is very, very weak, a light butterfly brush on skin. It cannot hurt you when it is that small of an amount, when it's a mere droplet striking your window on a rainy Sunday afternoon, sunlight dulled by the rain.

In a large quantity however, it destroys.

Buildings fall under the force of a flood. Trees crack. Dams will break. Lives can be stolen, a world can be ruined under the pressure of it.

Yet it is what we depend on to live. Water fuels us; we die without a week of drinking it. It is tasteless, colorless, weak, power, and we depend on it to give us our life.

People have died from water poisoning. People have died in floods and tsunamis. People have died from dyhradation in the middle of a desert. They have drown in oceans, in streams, in lakes, in ponds.

It is stronger than fire, earth, and air, yet is weaker than all of those. It covers most of the globe, and we all depend on it for survival.

That is why control over water is to have control over the world.

* * *

A fire hydrant burst open, and water shot straight up into the air, catching Kisame as he fell. He had seen a bit of the battle going on, but he fell then, instantly cursing the fact that he was a stupid idiot to actually jump like that.

When the icy water caught him, his body tensed up. It was freezing cold, and the winter air made it only feel worse.

_Shit..._

Kisame's breathing caught in his throat. He was no longer falling, but encased in a sphere of icy water. The city outside swam in front of his vision, the lights blurring together. It looked vaguely pretty. Reminded him of swimming in the pool with Itachi and Sasuke, before Itachi died and Sasuke declared swimming "uncool".

He expected his lungs to start burning as he turned upside down in the sphere. He had been in there for quite a while now. But nothing happened, so hesitantly, Kisame opened his mouth and let some water pour into his throat.

Nothing happened. In fact, the water didn't seem to do anything. The chill burned his throat, but there wasn't any pain, no desperate cry of his lungs for air.

So apparently he could breathe underwater. Nice.

And he seemed to be floating in a sphere of water. Kisame didn't know if he was controlling that, or if the water just automatically protected him, but at least he was saved from certain death.

The icy sphere floated upwards slowly, almost lazily, and Kisame caught glimpse of the battle as he turned over in the water.

Kakuzu, hanging in some...thing's mouth, dripping wit blood.

Sasori, yelling commands to a furious looking Hidan and a terrified Deidara.

Itachi, trying to catch Aria's eye, his gaze bloody red and icy cold as a blob of flaming blackness leapt at him, knocking the delicate spirit backwards and through the wall behind him. The flames followed close behind.

That did it.

With an enraged yell, Kisame burst out of the water bubble, aiming for something, anything. His side grazed the beast holding Kakuzu, knocking it sideways and dislodging Kakuzu from it's mouth. Sasori's blue strings shot forward, catching the banker before he fell very far.

Kisame's hands were fixed around Aria's throat, the bubble of water, supporting his legs from the thigh down. She was grinning at him with pointed fangs as a flaming dog leapt at him.

* * *

"Don't you dare drop that, Tobi," Yuu warned as she guided her oar towards the fight, hovering a good hundred feet overhead. Her bumbling assistant, Tobi, clutched a huge, shining jar, made from silver, to his chest. His white robes sagged on him, and his wings, bedraggled and dirty, pumped the air energetically.

"Tobi won't drop the water!" he replied cheerfully, staring at Yuu through his mask. "Because Tobi is a good boy, Miss Yuu!"

Yuu rolled her eyes, staring down at the battle. Kakuzu's bleeding worried her the most...the Hell Hounds had chemicals in their teeth that prevented blood from clotting, and seeing how much blood he had already lost, he wouldn't last unless she got the holy water to him soon.

"Look, Miss Yuu!" Tobi called, pointing at a flock of birds flying towards them. "Tobi has never seen geese in a city before!"

"Because you're dead," Yuu replied in monotone. "You didn't live in a city, even when you were alive. You lived in the country."

Tobi shrugged one shoulder, watching the birds come closer as he shifted the jar of holy water around in his arms.

"Maybe so, but—OMPH!" Tobi shirked as a bird crashed into him, sending the jar tumbling out of his hands and down towards the fight below.

It seemed to happen in slow motion.

The jar fell, twisting over and over in the air. Water dripped out from the loosened cork, until the cork finally yanked itself out, and the rest of the holy water, the purest substance ever, dumped downwards...

And straight onto the head of Aria, who let out a head splitting shrike before bursting into flames, her ashes curling down towards the busy streets below, leaving a startled shark grasping at thin air as he wobbled, a bleeding banker, a shocked puppet master, and several very confused ghosts.

_

* * *

_**Author's Comment: **...I actually wrote something for this.

Wow...I am shocked, myself. I haven't done anything for this in forever, so don't kill me, because I'm going to finish this story within the next two weeks.


End file.
